Three major events to boost Kerala tourism

Kochi: Keralas department of tourism is gearing up for busy times ahead as three major events are to be hosted here in end-September and in early October 2002, says state Tourism and Fisheries Minister K V Thomas.

Thomas says this includes a seminar on various aspects of tourism, the Kerala Travel Mart 2002 and the first-ever National Boat Show. The mart will be inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony at the International Convention Centre here on 3 October. Union Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan will be the chief guest.

Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Vinod Khanna is expected to participate in the National Boat Show to be held on 5 October at the Bolgatty Palace, Thomas says. The first in the series would be a two-day seminar on tourism, People to People, at the Taj Residency on 27 and 28 September.

The seminar, to be organised in association with the Ernakulam Press Club, will be held to create awareness among the public about various tourism initiatives. The inaugural ceremony of the seminar will be followed by a tourism and media session on 27 September. This will be followed by an open forum to discuss common issues.

The final day will feature two sessions: Eco-tourism, Wildlife and Green Tourism, and Tourism - Growing Together. Eminent personalities like Nalini Singh, George Varghese, Mrinalini Sarabhai, T V R Shenoy, Mandip Singh Soin, M S Gopalakrishnan and V K Madhavan Kutty are expected to attend the seminar.

The Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), scheduled from 3 to 5 October, will have the participation of the tourism departments of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The department of tourism has been marketing KTM aggressively abroad and as a result this years mart will feature buyers from new countries like Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Sweden many of which were absent during the last mart.

Already about 750 participants have registered for KTM 2002. The idea is to strengthen south Indian tourism and promote Kerala as the green gateway to India, says Kerala tourism secretary T Balakrishnan.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators, the Travel Agents Association of India, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the FH & RAI and the union minister for tourism, along with major airlines and leading hotels in the city, have offered their support for KTM 2002.

There was a rise of about 10 per cent in tourist movement after the last KTM, even though there was a general recession in the industry following the 11 September terror attacks, says Balakrishnan. National Boat Show (NBS), the first-ever exhibition of boats, water sports and safety accessories related to tourism and fisheries, is being organised in association with the union ministry of tourism and the National Institute of Watersports, Goa.

The Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Cochin Port Trust, Kerala State Inland Navigation Company and Cochin Shipyard are also supporting the venture. The organisers are expecting a maximum of 25 participants, and about 75 participants have already registered for NBS. The concept of NBS is an integral marketing of possibilities of our water bodies from perspectives of water transport, tourism and fisheries, says Balakrishnan.