Tag: Kerala

Munnar Travel Mart to be held from September 6

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

Thirty nine new services heading to Kerala airports from October

A total of 39 new domestic services will be operated from Kerala from October, with 23 of them from Thiruvananthapuram airport. The decision came in the wake of a meeting held by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with CEOs of various airline companies. Air India and Vistara will have one new service each, Air Asia will have seven new services, Spice Jet will have eight and GoAir will have 22 new services. IndiGo is looking to operate three new services, but it will be subject to a decision on Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) tax. The new services will be connecting ... Read more

Sean Patrick Si to give program tips for improving E-A-T SEO at ICTT 2019

All of us know the importance of being on top in Google. But, what do we need to improve the rankings? And, here comes E-A-T SEO, which stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) Search Engine Optimization (SEO). E-A-T SEO is not something you can fix quickly, it takes continuous efforts and commitment to get better results. Here, Sean Patrick Si will be speaking at International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT 2019) on Program tips to improve E-A-T SEO. Sean, SEO specialist, Growth Hacker, internet marketer, Copywriter and blogger, will be speaking on the topic on September 27, on the ... Read more

Emirates will offer Onam Sadya meal for passengers to Kerala

Emirates is celebrating the beginning of the Malayalam calendar with a burst of flavours, making it even more special for Keralites. From 1 to 13 September, the airline will serve authentic Onam dishes across all cabin classes on all its flights to and from Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Emirates’ chefs and catering teams have curated delicious festive menus with the distinctive flavours of the season that remain true to the taste buds even at 40,000ft. Enjoy traditional appetisers such as kaya varuthathu or crisp banana chips, sharkara upperi, banana roasted in jaggery, and kondatta mulaku —fried sundried chillies steeped in yoghurt. ... Read more

Kerala Tourism to organise Athapookkalam and Thiruvathirakali competitions

Photo Courtesy: La Paz Group As part of the upcoming Onam celebrations, Kerala Tourism will organise Athapookkalam competition, which allows the participants to create captivating designs through a mix of colours and flowers, on September 10. It will also organise Thiruvathirakali competition, a unique dance performed by women, on the auspicious day of Thiruvathira, on September 14. The winners of both the competitions will receive an amount of Rs 20,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 as first, second and third prizes, respectively. An amount of Rs 2,000 will be given as consolation prizes for the commendable performances amongst the participant ... Read more

Nehru Trophy boat race, Champions Boat League to be held on August 31

The tourism department of Kerala has decided to conduct the 67th edition of the Nehru Trophy boat race and the first heats of the Champions Boat League, at Punnamada lake in Alappuzha on August 31, 2019. The NTB and CBL, which were first scheduled on August 10 was postponed considering the risk from the heavy rain and flood. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is slated to inaugurate the race and the Champions Boat League (CBL) will to be flagged-off along with the Nehru trophy, with Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as the chief guest cheering the crowds. A total of 79 boats, including ... Read more

Chaliyar River Paddle to be held on September 20

Jellyfish Water Sports attempts to bring together people who love water and water sports to spread awareness about conserving water bodies through different kinds of paddling activities acting as a springboard for the cause. ‘Chaliyar River Paddle’ is the 6th edition of this annual event by Jellyfish Water Sports. 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 ... Read more

Kerala Tourism’s Info Centres get facelift

Strengthening the information network of Kerala Tourism, seven renovated tourism information centres were opened in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi on Tuesday, with Hon. Minister for Co-operation, Devaswom and Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran inaugurating the facility at the Central Bus Terminal at Thampanoor in Thiruvananthapuram. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said Tourist Information centres in Chennai, Goa and Kolkata were also getting spruced up and strengthened with sufficient staff and technical back-up. “Tourist Information Centres have undergone a complete makeover to meet the demands of tourists visiting Kerala. Through the project, the government is also providing jobs for professionally-qualified and skilled youth ... Read more

Tourist arrivals in Kerala up 14.81% in second quarter

Riding on a swift recovery from one of the worst natural calamities, Kerala Tourism has regained the pre-floods tourist footfalls, registering an impressive growth rate of 14.81 per cent in the second quarter of the current year as against the figures of the corresponding period a year earlier. There was an increase of 639,271 tourists (both domestic and foreign) during April-June this year as compared to the figure during the corresponding period in the previous year. In the first quarter (January-March), the total number of tourist arrivals was 46,12,937 as compared to 43,18,406 during the same period in 2018. The ... Read more

Kovalam, Munnar, Alappuzha, Kumarakom, Wayanad, Fort Kochi, Kollam, Thekkady, & Bakel to go garbage, plastic-free

Seeking to keep prime tourism destinations across Kerala plastic and garbage free, Hon. Minister for Tourism, Co-operation and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran today launched the “Clean Kerala Initiative,” piloted by Responsible Tourism Mission with the co-operation of the stake-holders in the tourism sector. Flagging off the project and a two-day workshop at Chaithram Hotel here, Surendran lauded the role of Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission in rejuvenating the tourism sector by promoting good practices like the “Green Code of Conduct.” “Responsible Tourism Mission (RT) is not just a propaganda tool of the government but it is an integral component of the tourism ... Read more

Kanjirapuzha Dam Garden gets a facelift

Photo Courtesy: Random Explorer, Flickr Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has inaugurated the Kanjirapuzha Dam Garden in Palakkad today. The new modified Kanjirapuzha dam garden also offers boating facility for the visitors. The garden, which is spread on 8 acres, has special zones for children which includes pedal boating, swimming pool, cycling, various rides etc. The garden also has a musical fountain and special lighting arrangements to deck up the whole area. The facility has around five boats for the travellers, seven rain shelters for those who wish to get a cover from the rains, a public addressing system to ... Read more

Five-day “Nishagandhi Monsoon Ragas” Music Fest to begin on July 20

Eminent classical musicians Padma Parassala B Ponnammal and Padma Bhushan Dr. T V Gopalakrishnan have been selected for the inaugural Nishagandhi Sangeetha Puraskaram, instituted by Kerala Tourism to honour artists who have made outstanding contributions to music. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswom made the announcement at a press conference here on Wednesday. The honour carries Rs 1.5 lakh, citation and memento. Nishagandhi Monsoon Ragaas, the five-day music festival organized by the Kerala Tourism Department, will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Governor of Kerala Rtd Justice P Sathasivam on July 20, at 6.15 PM at Kanakakunnu Palace. Minister for ... Read more

Wayanad Splash 2019 concludes

The four-day Wayanad Splash 2019, organised in association with the State Tourism Department and Wayanad Tourism Organisation to showcase the numerous tourist attractions and activities in Wayanad, has concluded. Arab bloggers at Contour Island Resort & Spa, Wayanad As many as 396 stakeholders, including 116 sellers and 280 buyers including international tour operators took part in the business meet. Close to 110 stakeholders from Malabar region and neighbouring districts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu put up stalls at the venue to showcase their properties. Inaugurating the concluding ceremony of the B2B meet, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the government has earmarked ... Read more

Kerala Tourism to tap culinary skills of women to enliven stay of visitors

Kerala’s heritage-preserving Responsible Tourism initiative has drawn up an ambitious project to tap the culinary skills of women at the grass roots, especially housewives, to dish out the distinct flavours of the state’s ethnic cuisine to visitors. The scheme, ‘Experience Ethnic Cuisine”, aims at gainfully engaging up to 50,000 home-makers across the state in three years, by roping in them as key stakeholders in the hospitality sector. The project, which can set a major trend in the state’s tourism sector and empower women substantially, was announced by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran in the State Legislative Assembly recently. The registration to ... Read more

Kerala’s monsoon carnival, the Wayanad Splash begins

Wayanad is all set to welcome travel trade professionals and travellers from across the world for the much awaited Wayanad Splash 2019. This unique festival celebrates Rain Tourism, making the most daunting and dormant period of the year more marketable. This year tour operators, media and travel experts come together at Vythiri Village between July 11 and July 14 to experience and promote the monsoon carnival. Splash, a joint venture by Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala and the Wayanad Tourism Organisation, is a biannual calendar event held in July to showcase the numerous tourist attractions and activities in Wayanad district. ... Read more