The new Left Front government in Kerala was targeting Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion) investments and Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) income from the tourism sector this year besides aiming to generate 50,000 employment opportunities, State Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said on Monday.
Efforts would be made to explore new markets, including South Asian countries and the US, to woo international tourists to the state, Balakrishnan told reporters in Kochi.
In 2005, the foreign and domestic tourist arrivals to Kerala were 3.46 lakh and 59.46 lakh respectively. Compared to the previous year, there was over 20 per cent increase in the arrival of international tourists during the last tourist season from November 2005 to March this year.
During the current year, the tourism department was targetting a growth of 20 per cent for international tourists and five per cent for domestic tourists. The additional room capacity required would be met by encouraging homestays and private investments at different levels (small, medium and large), he told reporters.
A new scheme would be introduced to encourage 'Kerala Model' of development of tourism infrastructure taking into account the unique characteristics of the state's cultural and natural heritage and helping investors, including those in the small and medium level, Balakrishnan said.
Linkage of tourism sector with the state's traditional sectors like agriculture and industries would be strengthened to help Kerala's entrepreneurs revive the fortunes of these sectors. Farm Tourism would be developed as new tourism product.
The government would focus on development and promotion of new tourism products like medical tourism, monsoon tourism and adventure tourism. The importance being given to backwater tourism, eco-tourism and Ayurveda would be continued, he said.
The tourism department would assist those involved in coir, handloom and handicrafts in capacity building and converting the conventional industrial activity as a tourism product.
The department also had plans to devise systems for promoting the souvenir industry. Tourism Secretary E K Bharat Bhooshan said about 110 designs have been finalised for developing exclusive souvenirs of the state and some had been selected.
The partnership between the department and the local bodies would be strengthened for developing local tourism products to ensure penetration of tourism benefits to rural areas and participation of the community in planning, development and management of tourism products.
Pointing out that the tourism potential of the Malabar area was yet to be harnessed, the minsiter said a new circuit in Malabar with Bekal-Kannur-Thalassery-Kozhikode-Nilambur-Waynad as nodal points would be developed.
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