Odisha contributes nearly 10 pc of tourist footfall of Kerala

Bhubaneswar: The picturesque southern state of India – Kerala – has been hardselling its tourism potential where it showcased its beauty during its stopover in Odisha capital today, as part of the nationwide campaign.

The senior officials of Kerala Tourism organized a B2B meet with travel operators where they showcased an array of new tourism products, at the event held at a city-based hotel here.

The officials were upbeat with the sizable number of tourist inflow from Odisha to ‘God’s own country’ during last several years.

“Odisha is contributing 10 per cent of the total tourist footfall in Kerala. We expect it to increase by further 10 per cent next year. Kerala is exclusive for ayurveda, backwaters and splendid beaches which attract the tourists,” said Deputy Director of Kerala Tourism KP Nanda Kumar to media persons.

The Kashmir of South India, Munnar, is going to turn purple which happens in every 12 years. This will be a rare spectacle with the purple hues of Neelakurinji. By end of December this year, Kerala is planning barrier-free tourism i.e, special facilities for people with disabilities, he added.

Kerala aims to increase tourist footfall by 50 per cent in next three years.

Worth mentioning, 2017 was a landmark year for Kerala Tourism, in terms of domestic footfalls, which increased to nearly 1.50 crore, translating into an 11.39% year on year growth.

Tagged ‘ComeOutandPlay’, the campaign is aimed at domestic travellers who have been seeing Kerala as an antidote to urban experiences and as the antithesis of routine. The new campaign sheds light on activity-based tourism and invites India to come out of the isolation that gadgets induce and to connect with each other and nature.

“Modern, especially young travellers come to Kerala in search of true-to-life experiences and this was kept in mind while formulating the new tourism policy and also while shaping this year’s domestic campaign titled ComeOutandPlay. As a part of refreshing the brand and making it more appealing, several new products have been introduced this year. Be it the Kerala Boat Race League or the Jatayu Earth Centre, all the products are environment-friendly and promote responsible tourism,” said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt. of Kerala.