Visit Kerala’ initiative to promote tourism in the state

New Delhi, (KNN) With an array of innovative programmes including Ayurveda, adventure trips, destination weddings, heritage tourism, food festivals and quiz competitions, Union Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (Independent Charge), Mahesh Sharma today launched the ‘Visit Kerala 2015’ here, an initiative of Kerala Tourism to promote tourism in the state

While inaugurating the ‘Visit Kerala’ initiative, Sharma said that Kerala has a rich potential for tourism since it abounds in natural beauty and has picturesque backwaters. He said the people of the state are well known for their sincerity, dedication and hospitable nature that is an essential quality of the Indian culture. It is due to this reason that Kerala can become ‘a destination’ worldwide.

The minister assured the officials of Kerala government that the centre will give full support to the State of Kerala to enable it to promote tourism in India and abroad.

He emphasised that tourism should become a means to generate revenue, promote rich cultural heritage, employment and women empowerment.

Citing that cleanliness drive launched by the Prime Minister which has also been taken up by the Ministry of Tourism and by the Ministry of Culture has gained widespread popularity, Sharma said states should make all efforts to provide a safe and secure environment to the visitors. He also requested the media to send out positive messages about the country to promote tourism.

In his message on the launch of ‘Visit Kerala Initiative’ the state Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy said it is an ambitious initiative of the Kerala government and he invited the people to visit his state during the Visit Kerala year 2015. 

The Tourism Minister of Kerala AP Anil Kumar said that with the visa on arrival (VoA) facility at Kochi Airport there has been significant growth in the tourist arrivals. He said that the state has always given priority to the tourism sector and is making efforts to promote the responsible tourism and encourage the participation of local communities in the tourism sector.

Ministry of Tourism Secretary, Lalit Panwar congratulated the Kerala Government and its team for this initiative. He said that more efforts should be made to target the foreign visitors to Kerala.

As part of the campaign to showcase the state’s alluring destinations and products that justify its moniker as God’s Own Country’, Kerala Tourism will foray into new markets in China and Sri Lanka through trade fairs, road shows and familiarization tours.

It will also launch aggressive campaigns in traditional markets like the UK, France and Germany to woo potential travellers by holding trade fairs and road shows. Consumer fairs and familiarization trips will be introduced in upcoming markets like the US. 

Leveraging the increased air connectivity, a focused Ayurveda and monsoon campaign will be conducted in the Middle East where 90 per cent of the Indian diaspora is from Kerala. 

Senior officials of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Ministry of Tourism of Kerala Government were also present during the launching ceremony. (KNN/ST)