Category: Kerala

P Balakiran, Tourism Director, Govt of Kerala, has started off his speech at the inaugural day of the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT 2019), kick-started at Le Meridien in Kochi, by reading out session notes he had taken during the previous ICTT conducted in 2017. “The information we have received from the ICTT 2017 sessions has greatly helped us while we were planning to revamp the Kerala Tourism website,” he said while addressing the audience today morning. “The budget allocated for digital marketing in the current financial year is 10 per cent, compared to the previous period’s 2 per ... Read more

Driven by brand new content and fascinating visuals, the sleek, interactive and information-laden Facebook page of Kerala Tourism has hit a new high, emerging as the most followed tourism page in South Asia and also overtaking Tourism Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand by a fair margin. The number of ‘likes’ on Kerala Tourism’s Facebook page has tripled in the past two years, touching a figure of 3,481,239 , thus eclipsing the popular social media platform of Tourism Malaysia that has 3.3 million, Visit Singapore 3.2million and Amazing Thailand 2.6 million likes. Internationally, now only three countries—Australia with 8.3 million, Go USA ... Read more

Rani George, Secretary, Kerala Tourism, has congratulated Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India (ATTOI) for organizing International Conference on Tourism Technology. “ICTT is an excellent and innovative initiative by ATTOI,” she said while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the  ICTT 2019 held at Le Meridien, Kochi. “I did expect a much bigger turnout for such an innovative event like ICTT. I expect more tourism professionals and entrepreneurs will turn out in the coming sessions,” she said. The Secretary has congratulated ATTOI for the selection of topics for the third edition of ICTT and also said the topics are good ... Read more

International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT 2019), organized by Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI), in association with Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, kick-started at the Le Meridien in Kochi today. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala, will officially inaugurate the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT 2019), at 6 pm today. The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI), in association with Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, is organizing the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT) in Kochi to address the challenges related with technology faced by Indian tourism and hospitality industry. The event started ... Read more

Kerala Tourism was bestowed three prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold awards, including the one for an ethnic food restaurant run by women at Kumarakom under its Responsible Tourism Mission, at a glittering function at Nur-Sultan (Astana) in Kazakhstan last evening. The awards were received by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran and Tourism Director, P Bala Kiran from Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director, Macau Government Tourism office and Dr Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, during the PATA Travel Mart 2019. The two other gold awards were for an advertisement campaign of Kerala Tourism — Come Out and Play — and ... Read more

Tourism Minsters from different states today made a strong case for reduction, simplification and rationalization of various taxes and levies, including Goods and Services Tax (GST), in tourism and travel industry to attract tourists and cushion stiff global competition. “The Tourism Ministers’ conclave 2019 at Kovalam, Kerala notes with concern that the GST Council of India has imposed 28 per cent GST on hotel room tariff over Rs 7,500 and 18 per cent tax on rooms with tariffs between Rs 2,500 and Rs 7,500. This tax rate is high compared with other countries,” said a resolution unanimously adopted by the ... Read more

“India is a land that has tremendous potential when it comes to tourism. With countless destinations and experiences to choose from, India attracts millions of domestic as well as international tourists. However, the tourism industry in India is increasingly facing a lot of challenges, which include high rate and rationalization of taxes; connectivity and high air fares; service standardization and accreditation and increasing competition,” said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala while speaking at the Tourism Minister’s Conclave at The Leela Raviz Kovalam here today. The GST Council of India has imposed 28 per cent tax on hotel ... Read more

The Champions Boat League (CBL) saw its competitive spirit soaring today with fraction of seconds proving critical in races, even as Tropical Titans continued their winning spree by finishing first in the third consecutive round of the pioneering water race modelled on IPL cricket. The victors timed 4:12.11 in the day’s final race to remain atop the CBL rankings, inches ahead of Coast Dominators (4:12.90) and Mighty Oars (4:13.80) who emerged second and third respectively along the one-km track. Tropical Titans were declared ‘Nerolac Excel Fastest Team of the Day”, and earned five extra points with the best timing of ... Read more

Chaliyar River Paddle’ is the 6th edition of this annual event by Jellyfish Water Sports and supported by Kerala Tourism. The three-day paddling event held from September 20th to September 22nd, 2019 targets water sports enthusiasts, nature lovers, tourists, children and people from all walks of life. Promoting water sports like kayaking, SUPing, and canoeing will help build the connection, turning more and more youngsters and tourists into evangelists of clean waters. “Chaliyar River Paddle has been focused on saving our rivers from urban pollution and promote recreational kayaking for everyone. Recently Kerala State has witnessed repetitive flooding and most ... Read more

Tourism Ministers and top officials of various states will congregate at the famed Kovalam beach resort here on September 16 to deliberate on key issues and challenges confronting travel and hospitality sector and hammer out strategies to firm up India’s position as a prime global destination of immense diversity. Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel will be the chief guest at the conclave, to be inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Leela Raviz, Kovalam. Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswom, Kadakampally Surendran will preside over the function. Major topics on the agenda ... Read more

A colourful cultural pageantry will be taken out in the city on September 16, to mark the finale of Onam Celebrations that showcased the best of Kerala’s art and performing traditions in multiple venues for a week. Hon’ble Governor Arif Mohammad Khan will flag off the procession, organized by the Kerala Tourism Department, at Manveeyam Veedhi, near the Raj Bhavan at 5pm. Hon. Minister for Tourism, Co-operation and Devaswom, Kadakampally Surendran will hand over the musical instrument ‘Kombu’ that proclaims the commencement of the procession, which will wend its way through the thoroughfares of the city for the next two ... Read more

YouTube has unlimited potential for travel destinations planning to increase the tourist footfall. With visually appealing content, it is now easy to grab the attention of the target audience. Recent studies show that audiences prefer video on all social platforms. YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google and many travellers start their trip planning with search. YouTube has an important part to play in your Search Engine Optimisation and Content Marketing strategies. Here’s Jessica Dante, Youtube Marketing Expert from London, speaking at the International Conference on Tourism Technology on How to use YouTube for destination promotion on September ... Read more

We all know how powerful social media can be to transform a business. But, how to create attention-grabbing content for the social media promotions still remain a question for many. Here, at the International Conference on Tourism Technology, Heather Heuman M.A., will give you tips about creating content/blog for social media and other marketing promotions. Based in South Carolina, Heuman helps companies and business owners across the globe simplify social media marketing by creating solid strategy focused on relationships, value-driven content and processes and systems to increase business goals. Heather Heuman will be speaking on the topic on September 27, ... Read more

Kerala Tourism’s week-long cultural extravaganza to mark this year’s Onam celebrations will kick off on September 10, showcasing the state’s vibrant classical and folk dances, modern art and performing traditions at multiple venues in the state capital and various District Centres. As part of the Onam celebrations, the capital city will also host the State Tourism Ministers’ Conclave, to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on September 16, the concluding day of the festival. Union Minister of State for Tourism and   Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel will be the chief guest at the meet at Leela Raviz, Kovalam. Besides ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Ram Kumar With an aim to introduce the tourism potential of Munnar to the world, Munnar Destination Makers is organising the Munnar Travel Mart from September 06 to 08 in Munnar. The event, which focuses on business-to-business meetings and destination tours, will feature over 400 buyers, including tour operators, writers and bloggers from all over the country. The tourism department of the state has invited bloggers from Arab countries as special invitees to participate in the Munnar Travel Mart. Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran will inaugurate the Travel Mart on September 7 at 10:30 am. Power Minister MM Mani ... Read more