`We Are Preparing A Master Plan To Promote Spice Tourism’

K C Venugopal, new tourism minister of Kerala, in an exclusive interview with Lakshmi Subramanian elucidates the key initiatives to further promote Kerala as a top tourism product

As the new minister for tourism, Kerala what are the initiatives to promote tourism?

Our plan is to focus on key areas such as eco-tourism and rural tourism. We have planned several projects to ensure that God's Own Country does not lose its charm. As for rural tourism, our officials have identified several local villages that are yet unknown to tourists coming from outside Kerala. There are several beautiful villages in Kerala, which have not been promoted. Such promotions would also enhance the local economy.

We are preparing a master plan, which encompasses spice tourism, backwaters, tea plantations etc. These plans warrant lot of investment for their proper execution, hence we are also looking forward to the centre for support. In addition, the private sector would also be important elements towards further developments. Kerala tourism is known for its public-private synergy. The state government is also looking to create infrastructure facilities such as good roads, clean drinking water so on.

What are the problem areas in Kerala tourism and how do you propose to solve them?

As far as Kerala tourism is concerned there are two major problem areas - air connectivity and insufficient rooms. Airline connectivity is a major problem as there are no direct flights from Europe and other countries. Air India is not offering us great help but we are looking to strike up a good relationship with them. In addition, there are insufficient rooms in the five star category. We are planning to add another 5000 rooms in the next one year. Apart from this, there are about 28 incomplete projects comprising tourism projects, pilgrimage projects, which we are aim to complete soon.

Which are the new hotel chains that are making inroads into Kerala?

There are several new properties entering Kerala. The Taj group, has already made its presence felt here. Major players such as Meridien and Oberoi are all planning to establish a firm footing in Kerala. We are basically focussing on high profile properties.

What are the steps towards promoting heritage and MICE tourism?

It is very clear that Kerala has a lot of culture and heritage apart from the nature and scenic beauty. Kerala has several important archaeological monuments which have a lot of history attached to it. Our emphasis will be on palaces, monuments, and pilgrimage centres. There is also a plan to connect various pilgrimage centres such as Sabarimala, Guruvayoor etc through road and offer it as a package to tourists. A tour like this will be convenient for tourists as they can visit all important pilgrimage centres. We are slowly entering the MICE segment. There are plans to construct an international convention centre at Ernakulam near Trivandrum. The centre would be sanctioning a large amount for this purpose. There is also a plan to start a Marina at Kochi. However, all these plans are still at the infancy stage.

What are your targets this year and what are your plans to achieve them?

Our main target is to attract foreign tourists from countries such as China, Japan and Russia, Records have shown that lesser number of tourists visit Kerala e from these countries. The main reason is lack of awareness. Therefore, it is important to exchange ideas with these countries and ensure that they visit Kerala for tourism. We need to advertise in a massive way to attract these foreign tourists and tourists from other states. The state budget is slated at Rs 100 crores and the centre will also contribute in a big way. In the year 2003, tourist arrivals was recorded to a tune of 26 per cent whereas for 2004 we are hoping to increase it to 35 per cent. The response has been good this year as hotels are over booked and there is want of space. If everything goes as planned we should achieve our targets for this year.