Kerala Tourism's print campaign on World Tourism Day encouraging travellers to save precious rain forests through their simple actions has won the 'Olive Crown Award' for communicating sustainability. The print advertisement released on September 27 last year showing how a simple act like postponing a hotel laundry could help sustain rain forests, lifted the Award in the Press Services category, a state tourism press release said today.

The Kerala tourism department will launch a year-long umbrella package 'Visit Kerala Year 2009' from January to woo domestic travellers to tide over the impact of the global downturn and the terror attack in Mumbai, state Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said on Wednesday.

"Under the package, focus will be on Tier II cities," he told reporters here.

He also said 60 projects, promising an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, were showcased at the 'Inte Naadu' meet of Non-Resident Keralites here on Tuesday.

To ensure speedy implementation of the projects, a single window system would be set up, he said, adding Tourism Director M Shivashankar has been appointed nodal officer.

source| The Hindu
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According to a PTI report, in order to make use of the opportunities, farmers in Kerala will soon roll out the red carpet for tourists, with the state tourism department evolving new strategies to aggressively market ‘Farm Tourism’ in a big way. Sources from Kerala Tourism said that the state has tremendous potential for developing Farm Tourism in a big way without additional investment. About 3, 50,000 hectares of land under paddy cultivation can be transformed to tourist attractions in order to transfer the benefits of tourism directly to farmers.

An individual or group owning at least ten acres of plantation at or near a tourist centre or along an established tourist circuits or major transport corridor can be a part of the ‘Green Farm Kerala’ venture. Sources from Kerala Tourism stated that one needs to develop the farm and add on a host of components and facilities as prescribed by the Kerala Tourism.

source| http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/kerala-tourism-to-promote-farm-tourism-through-green-farm-kerala-venture-4576

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A group of cycling enthusiasts from the US will be coming to Kerala during the next tourist season beginning October to bike along four routes identified for them by a tour operator here. Each stretch of the route is 25 km long and covers areas not well explored by tourists.

The first one begins at Kappad beach in Kozhikode and ends close to ace athlete P.T. Usha’s hometown in Payyoli.

The second starts from the Muzhapilangad beach, considered the most beautiful stretch to drive/bike along, and ends near Kannur cantonment.

The third one is in the hilly terrain in Kasargode and the fourth in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary passing through dense forests in the hilly district of Wayanad.

“These four routes have been specially chosen for an American tour company which will bring in cycling enthusiasts,” tourism consultant Koshy John told IANS.

John said biking is one area that Kerala tourism has not exploited, though the state has beautiful beaches, scenic hilly terrains and abundant greenery.

“The one limiting factor is that there are no proper maps to identify routes and it is here that the local community can come forward by identifying routes to help tour operators,” he says.

source| http://www.thaindian.com

The God’s own country is drawing foreign tourists like never before. Looks like the backwater and the serene landscape are truly too hard to resist

Thiruvananthapuram: The tourism sector in Kerala appears to be doing well with 19.43 percent increase in foreign tourist arrivals and 17.94 percent growth in revenue generated.

This was disclosed in the governor's address to the state assembly.

Up to November 2007, 443,594 foreign tourists arrived here, which is a record, and the total revenue generated also grew to a staggering Rs.91.26 billion during 2006.

"As tourism is on the growth path, the major initiatives for the coming year is to focus on developing tourism infrastructure and products with emphasis on conserving and preserving the environment.

"The government will come out with a white paper on responsible tourism, which will guide future policy initiatives of the government," said Governor R.L. Bhatia.

Adventure tourism in the state will be developed and a board of tourism studies will be created to regulate and improve academic performance in tourism and hospitality studies, he added.

Source: IANS