Tourism Minister, Kerala
Kerala tourism has undertaken a major campaign to amplify state’s outreach in important European markets. It is the second phase of the promotional campaign rolled out by the state tourism department to target high-value markets. The tourism department has zeroed on Europe as the most important market in the pecking order of markets with “high growth potential” in tourism. Kadakampally Surendran, tourism minister shared that “Kerala Tourism has activated a rigorous promotional campaign involving diverse products that have the capability to attract travelers from the European countries to Kerala.
The 7.5 crore INR outreach comes at a time when the state has set its sight on doubling foreign inbound numbers by 2021. Rani George, secretary, tourism and culture explained that “through this promotional and marketing campaign, Kerala tourism aims to double the foreign tourist arrivals and increase domestic tourist arrivals by 50 percent, by 2021. This would require a year-on-year growth of 8.45% for domestic tourists and 14.87% for International tourists.”
In recent years, after the success of house boats and backwaters as tourism products, the state department has been pushing newer elements, such as eco-tourism to keep the tourist interested. The focus on promoting new and explored destinations will continue unabated, P. Bala Kiran, director, Kerala tourism shared. “Under this campaign, Kerala Tourism has continued its focus on promoting the unexplored and pristine destinations of North Kerala such as Bekal, Kannur, Malabar, Wayanad etc,” he said. B2B element is also going to high on the agenda for the tourism department. “Kerala Tourism has planned a string of B2B Meets & Trade Fairs in order to attract the European vacationers to the state. The aim is to scale up the trade and tourism business of the state, while establishing new trade connections in the potential markets,” he noted.
