Kerala Tourism promises new surprises

Kerala Tourism’s latest innovative project- Keravan Kerala, has been a big hit with new-age travellers. During the recent Kerala Tourism Partnership Meet in Kolkata on December 8, 2022, Prem Bhas, Tourist Information Officer, Kerala Tourism, shares inform

With revenge travel becoming the flavor of the season, the demand for domestic travel has peaked. God’s Own Country is once again riding high with a slew of unexplored destinations for all segments of travellers. Aimed to entice winter holiday tourists into the state, Kerala Tourism has charted out a host of events and introduced novel products like Keravan Kerala, an initiative of caravan tourism.

The latest campaign of Kerala Tourism has been - “Make up for lost time, Pack up for Kerala.” According to Prem Bhas, “In an attempt to record a higher number of visitors in the state, we are hard-selling the unexplored destinations. We have set up a Caravan Park and we are concentrating on northern parts of the state like Wayanad. There is Idukki district and the hill resort of Paithalmala in the district of Kannur that are relatively unexplored. With the airport coming up at Kannur, the state has four airports, including Trivandrum, Cochin and Calicut. The state government has allocated `132 crore in the current year to identify unexplored destinations in each Panchayat.”

Prem Bhas further said, “Caravan tourism is a wholesome package providing high-end experiential tourism at a reasonable price. Tourists get to explore the land by travelling in luxury van. It is a one-of-akind experience and intends to provide safe, tailor-made and nature-based travel to tourists.”

The best time to visit the state is from October to March. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has kicked off caravan tourism for the past one year. Bhas said, “The uptick in domestic tourist arrivals is due to the launch of innovative products like Keravan Kerala. Gujarat sends the greatest number of domestic travellers to the state, while West Bengal accounts for 15-20 per cent of domestic tourists in Kerala.

Kolkata is an emerging market for us and we are exploring new markets like Bhubaneswar. Nearly 1,33,80,000 domestic tourists made a round of the state in 2022. Our state is eyeing around 2 crore domestic tourists next year. The highest global tourist traffic comes from the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. We are expecting global tourist arrivals in the next fiscal.”