With the objective to achieve an increase of domestic tourists by 50 per cent and international tourists by 100 per cent by 2020, Kerala Tourism organised a Partnership Meet in New Delhi. The idea was to draw maximum tourists from Delhi and surrounding areas to Kerala. For this, Kerala Tourism has already identified new initiatives and schemes to target these tourists.
Announcing the initiatives, Muraleedharan P., Tourist Information Officer, Department Of Tourism, Government of Kerala, said, “We are bringing up more destinations and one international airport in Kannur in North Kerala. We are also adding new destinations to capture the tourists. These include Bekal for its sea front and, Wayanad as a hill station and for its spectacular waterfalls.”
The tourism body also recognised that most foreign tourists flock to Kerala to experience its cultural heritage. But through the meet, they tried showcasing the idea that Kerala’s culture is not limited to performances on stage. “It is ingrained in our way of life and the department is taking small but significant steps towards helping a traveller experience the richness of Kerala, be it our temple festivals, cuisine, rural crafts, folk forms or traditional and popular art forms," he said.
A combination of a cultural feast of Kerala’s traditional dance forms and its attractive tourism products were also showcased at the partnership meet. Dhrishya Thalam, a visual storytelling that showcases the various dance forms of Kerala was presented alongside, to unveil the village life and folklore of the state.
The state has already registered a remarkable increase in international and domestic tourist arrivals during 2016. While international tourist arrivals to Kerala during the year 2016 was 10,38,419 – an increase of 6.25 per cent over the previous year’s, the domestic tourist arrival was 1,31,72,535 and marked a 5.67 per cent increase. The total revenue has also seen a whopping increase of 11.12 per cent over the last year’s figure.