MHRA to organise Travel Mart in Munnar

Munnar Hotels' and Resorts' Association (MHRA) is planning to organize a Travel Mart in Munnar sometime next year. Speaking to Express TravelWorld, The president of MHRA, Dileep Pottankulam said "Munnar is a very important destination for both Domestic and International tourist coming to Kerala. There is a lot of misconception among the tour operators and tourists from outside Kerala about Munnar, after the demolition drive by the state government. One of the major reason for MHRA to organise this Travel Mart in Munnar is to change this misconception among all."

MHRA is the united body of hotels and resorts in Munnar. The association has been registered under Society Act of 1956. The purpose of the association is to promote Munnar as a tourist destination and to provide better services to the tourists. A body elected from the representatives of member hotels carries out the functions of MHRA. "We have been visiting all tour operators, travel agents and individual travellers across India through various tradeshows and Travel Marts for promoting Munnar, but for a change we thought of inviting them over to Munnar for this Travel Mart to show the beauty of Munnar and to have a first hand experience of this wonderful destination. This would also, in the later stage be an event showcasing the tourism sector of Kerala", said the MHRA secretary, Anish Varghese.

This season Munnar has definitely seen a sharp fall in the tourist arrivals and one of the reasons for this could be the demolition. It is this problem of the fall in the tourists arrivals that the MHRA wants to change. According to some of the resorts in Munnar, there are many allied trades associated with the tourism business and with the fall in the tourist arrivals many people who bank on these tourists for their daily bread may loose everything. MHRA joint secretary, Giji feels that "In case everything goes to our plan we could make this an annual event. Apart from the members of MHRA, we will also be participating non-members from other destinations in Kerala to exhibit their properties. This would help the visitors and travel agents a single platform to have a first hand knowledge on the various properties across the state."