The Govt. of Kerala has come out with a new Tourism Policy to expedite the tourism growth in the state. The policy envisages creation of new customised products for attracting young travellers, professionals, students and artists to the state. It also emphasises on the active participation of the differently-abled and transgenders, while implementing the Responsible Tourism Mission across the State to promote the tourism sector. The Govt has also proposed to establish a Kerala Tourism Regulatory Authority (KTRA) to ensure quality service for tourists and curb unhealthy practices in the tourism sector.
“There is an immediate need to improve the infrastructure facilities across various destinations of the state. The new policy aims to address the key issues of the tourism industry in cooperation with the local bodies such as waste management and renovation of roads. The state has immense tourism potential to attract travellers from all corners of the world. Following the Responsible Tourism Mission, Kerala Tourism has guided all the regional bodies and authorities concerned to implement and follow the Green Protocol at all the destinations of Kerala,” Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, said while unveiling the policy.
Venu V, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala said, “The tourism department is keen to appoint a brand ambassador for Kerala Tourism in order to promote the state’s tourism across the globe. The priority has always been to promote Responsible Tourism with active participation of the local bodies and citizens. The new policy would continue to focus on these two main objectives of Kerala Tourism. The sole objective is to double the foreign tourist arrivals and increase domestic tourist arrivals by 50 percent, by 2021.”
P Bala Kiran, Director, Kerala Tourism, and Managing Director, Kannur International Airport said, “With the aim to implement ‘Barrier Free Kerala Tourism’ this year, Kerala Tourism has planned to initiate new infrastructure development projects in order to create accessible and friendly spaces to the differently abled, elderly tourists and transgenders.”
The tourism board has also planned to revise the classification system for ayurveda centres, houseboats and other services with strict norms. In addition to that, a special rating would be introduced for hotels based on the quality of service provided.
