Formulation of an integrated plan for the regional development of North Malabar through sustainable tourism initiatives was stressed at a discussion held at Neeleswaram in Kasaragod on Thursday as part of the conclusion of a three-day international conference on tourism and sustainable development organised by the Central University of Kerala (CUK)’s Department of Economics.
Inaugurating a discussion on ‘Tourism sector in North Malabar and local development’ for representatives of local bodies as part of the conference titled ‘Augmenting tourism infrastructure, assurance of quality standards in tourist services and opportunities in the context of sustainable tourism in India’, Kasaragod district panchayat president A.G.C. Basheer noted the importance of private investment for sustainable tourism projects.
He also stressed the need to pool Central and State government funds for long-term development.
Approach paper
Mr. Basheer released an approach paper of the conference that can be used as tourism development manual for the north Malabar region by local bodies, a press note released by the CUK informed.
CUK Vice Chancellor G. Gopakumar presided. B. Vijayakumar, former Principal of Kerala Institute for Travel and Tourism Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, presented the approach paper.
Union Ministry of Tourism sponsored the conference.
Over 100 participants from different universities of India and abroad presented research papers on various sub-themes related to tourism and sustainable development.
Conference committee secretary K.C. Baiju and convener V. Nagaraj summarised the proceedings.