Questions as to how to utilise the Kannur international airport for exploring the tourism potential of north Malabar and the nearby Kodagu in Karnataka, the region’s potential for health and wellness tourism, and the scope of experiential tourism were among those raised at the tourism fraternity meet here on Thursday.
Tourism Secretary Rani George said that tourism was on a new trajectory in the State with the launch of the Kannur airport. A new tourism route was being opened in the largely unexplored north Malabar, she said. “Connectivity has improved and we are promoting Kannur airport in roadshows for tour operators in India and abroad,” she said.
The master plan of the first phase of the Thalassery Heritage Project that covered areas up to Wayanad had been completed, she added.
Baby Mathew, president of the Kerala Travel Mart, called for resource mapping of tourism projects. Gul Mohammed, who linked his mussel cultivation at Padanna in Kasaragod with tourism, said value-addition was required for turning any activity into one with touristm scope.
SMiLE initiative
Manu P.V., Secretary of the Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India, stressed the importance of activities in tourism destinations. The BRDC’s SMiLE initiative for entrepreneurship development in tourism was an initiative in that direction, he added.
T.K. Manzoor, Managing Director of the BRDC, said that after the launch of SMiLE project, foreign tourists’ inflow in Kannur and Kasaragod recorded huge increase. “In Kasaragod alone, the growth of foreign tourist inflow is 260%,” he noted.