Category: Kerala

The fifth edition of Kerala Blog Express, the annual campaign of state Tourism Department, will be flagged off on March 18. Minister for Tourism Kadakampally Surendran will flag off the two-week-long event from Mascot hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran flags off Kerala Blog Express Season 4 This year the campaign will see 30 bloggers from 28 countries across the globe participating in the event. The participating bloggers are from France, US, UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Venezuela and Peru. The bloggers were selected through a voting system with over 50,000 votes garnered online. The Kerala Blog Express was piloted ... Read more

The travel/tourism players in the state have welcomed the Cabinet decision to extend bar timing to one hour more exclusively for the tourism sector. The new cabinet decision has come as a boon to the sector which has been suffering at first with the liquor ban and then with the time cap on bars. A new liquor policy has been granted by the Cabinet Ministry with a revised timing for bars in the tourism sector. Currently, bars functioning from 11 am to 11 pm, will be able to open till 12 midnight as per the revised policy. The rule is ... Read more

The forest fire in the Theni – Kolukkumalai region has forced the state government of Kerala to order a ban on all trekking activities in the state. State Forest Minister K Raju clarifies that the government has no plans to permanently shut down the eco-tourism activities in the state. Following the forest fire at Theni in Tamil Nadu, there have been recent fire outbursts in Vazhachal and Pariyaram forest ranges in Thrissur and another one reported near Gavi. The tourism enthusiasts and the travel/tourism operators in the state were apprehensive about the ban on the trekking activities as they fear ... Read more

Vishala Hospitality takes over the Gokul Ootupura Rooms in Kochi, a division of Gokul Ootupura, one of the leading vegetarian restaurant chains in Kerala. Launched in 1950, the Gokul Boutique hotel near the Ernakulam Shiva temple, has a background of providing hospitality and restaurant services for over fifty years. Now that with Vishala on board taking care of the marketing side of the hotel, Gokul Rooms, is all set to bring back the glorious days of the past. “The hotel  features nine well appointed air-conditioned rooms and a state-of-the-art vegetarian restaurant which serves North Indian and South Indian dishes,” said Ravi ... Read more

After a successful ITB Berlin held in Germany from March 7-11, Kerala Tourism conducted a roadshow in Marseille, France on March 13. The Kerala Tourism is touring European countries as part of its marketing campaigns to attract more European tourists to the God’s own Country. The Marseille roadshow under the leadership of Rahul, Managing Director of Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), saw 15 tour operators from Marseille attending the show. Nearly 40 per cent of foreign footfalls to the state are from the developed countries of UK, Germany and France. Considering that Europe is a high potential market for overall tourism growth, ... Read more

Come July and its that time of the year where expert kayakers from across the world will sweat it out for top spots at the International White Water Kayaking Championship scheduled to be held at Thusharagiri in Kozhikode district from July 12 to 22. Two-time world extreme kayaking champion Joe Morley from the United Kingdom, 2012 London Olympics finalist Mike Dawson from New Zealand and noted kayaker from Italy Max Benetton were the big names featured in the previous years. Comprising an international kayaking championship, kayaking training programmes and rafting sessions, the Malabar River Festival is organised by the Kozhikode ... Read more

In view of the tragic death of several trekkers during the forest fire in the Kolukkumalai hills of Theni district in Tamil Nadu, the Chief Secretary and the Chairman of State Disaster Management Authority has issued directions to stop trekking to hills and also to ensure that all fire lines are cleared. In view of the situation, the state has issued 6-point instructions with immediate effect. No movement of members of public inside forest areas, without permission will be allowed. All programmes in which members of public are taken inside forest areas, like trekking, will be suspended forthwith. DFOs/WLWs will ... Read more

In the wake of the current forest fire killing atleast 14 in the Kolukkumalai hills in Tamil Nadu, the state government of Kerala has issued a ban in trekking to forest places. All the wildlife sanctuaries have been temporarily closed. The forest fire in the Kurangini hills of Kolukkumalai in Theni has affected the nearby areas of Ramakkalmedu, Pukkulam Hills etc. As the summer has set in, forest fires are a common phenomenon in the forest region. Telangana and Tamil Nadu were suffering from forest fires recently. Officials have received a total of 7,700 fire alerts since January 1 this ... Read more

Kerala Tourism’s new campaign has bagged the prestigious ‘Golden City Gate Award’ at the world’s leading travel trade show ITB in Berlin. Titled ‘Live Inspired’, the multimedia campaign that seeks to promote God’s Own Country as an art and cultural hub, is directed by Samir Thahir. The Golden City Gate Award is dubbed as the Oscar of tourism communication at the Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin). The campaign’s ad film made for the Kochi Biennale ‘A Room with a View’ had earlier bagged the Kyoorius award in the 60 second film category. The film is conceived and scripted by Stark Communications ... Read more

Atleast 12 people are reported to be killed in the forest fire at Kurangini hills at Kolukkumalai in Theni district of Tamil Nadu. 25 have been rescued so far. Earlier it was reported that 27 people including 25 women are feared to have been trapped in the severe forest fire atop the Kolukkumalai Hills in Tamil Nadu. But, at present as per the reports many are feared to have been trapped in the fire. Of the nine dead, four are women, four men and a child. Six of them are from Chennai and three from Erode, confirmed the Theni Collector. ... Read more

With an aim to draw focus on the benefits of tourism and reinforce the principle of “Tourism for all”, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, along with SPIC MACAY, has kick started the Classical Heritage Series programme in Kochi. The event, which aims at increasing the tourism aspects in Heritage cities, was inaugurated by Mohammed Y Safirulla IAS, Ernakulam District Collector, at the Bastion Bungalow in Fort Kochi. Various artists from across the nation will lead the events, which are scheduled to be conducted on March 10, 11, 17 and 18.  Ustad Shujaat Khan in Sitar and Vidushi Shubha ... Read more

India won the best exhibitor award at the ITB Berlin. For 17 years now, the Best Exhibitor Award (BEA) is considered as a quality indicator for an attractive performance at ITB. This year, the BEA was awarded to India at the Palais am Funkturm. “India has truly arrived on the international stage. Congrats to the entire team that’s been working their hearts out to showcase India as the best destination in the world,” said Alphons KJ, Minister for Tourism after receiving the award.   More than 10,000 exhibitors are divided into a total of 11 categories, each of which is ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Kerala Tourism The Kerala Tourism Regulatory Authority (KTRA), set to enhance the safety and security of tourists in Kerala, will be part a part of the Tourism policy and will also ensure that hotels have proper licences. “Whenever a tourist visits a place, the primary concern is whether he/she will be safe and secure in that place. Kerala, being an educated society and having high literacy rate, is already peaceful. There are no law and order issues normally. But when a tourist visits, he/she will expect more than that,” said Jafar Malik, Additional Director, Department of Kerala Tourism. Malik ... Read more

Kerala Tourism is all set to introduce a new brand ambassador, says P Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Kerala Tourism at ITB Berlin exclusively to Tourism News Live. “A new campaign will be launched in the coming months with a new brand ambassador to promote Kerala to the globetrotters across the world,” he said. The department had earlier announced that it has plans to rope in a celebrity artiste or a sports person, and not a global face. At present, most number of travellers are visiting the central and south Kerala. The Kerala Tourism department is planning to promote the unexplored Northern ... Read more

If there is one thing that can ruin a fun night out, it’s the bill at the end of the party. But, if you like trading and drinking, that unusual combination comes together at the Travancore Bar Exchange (TBX) at Hycinth Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. Conceptualised on the lines of stock market, TBX is a fun, unique and cutting-edge bar concept that allows customers to trade in food and booze. SMOKO area TBX is Kerala’s first stock market-modelled bar where prices of drinks change based on real time demand. It will provide an experience similar to trading in the stock market. ... Read more