Tourism News

KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER

Country’s Major Tour Operators attend B2B Meet at Kovalam

Major tour operators of the country have converged at Kovalam for a three-day destination promotion meet. Kerala Tourism along with South Kerala Hoteliers Forum (SKHF) and Tourism Professionals Club (TPC) organized the B2B meet. 

Destination promotion and the working out of mutually beneficial packages to promote prime destinations in Kerala were the objectives of the meet. The visiting tour operators were taken through the prime spots in Kovalam, Varkala and nearby Poovar as part of the promotion drive.

Over 100 travel agents and tour operators from key markets like Gujarat, Delhi, Telangana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu met stakeholders from the state, including hotel partners, in order to work out mutually beneficial strategies and packages that will give a tremendous boost to tourism in the state.  

The Tourism Minister Mr P. A. Mohamed Riyas said it’s a clear sign that major tour operators of the country are showing great interest in Kerala as a prime destination. This is because the state has set an example by successfully overcoming the constraints triggered by the pandemic. “It can be seen as an outcome of our fool-proof implementation of Covid-19 safety measures like bio-bubble in tourism destinations. Tour operators from across the country are convinced that Kerala is the safest place and the state government will offer all support to their plans,” Mr Riyas said.

Tourism Director Mr V. R. Krishna Teja said the B2B meet will give a fillip to the tourism sector that has begun to show progress after being hit by the pandemic. “It’s a great opportunity for tour operators from other states to get a hands-on feel of our beach activities, including adventure tourism at Kovalam and backwater trips at Poovar. They can design attractive packages for the visitors to go to the unexplored areas of these places,” he added.

“Through initiatives of this kind, we aim to give a big boost to the tourism activities in and around south Kerala. We will soon be introducing a set of new and revamped itineraries to encourage more tourists to explore,” said Mr Manoj Babu, Secretary General, South Kerala Hoteliers Forum.

Travel Agent Association of Coimbatore (TAAC), Tour Operators Association of Telangana (TOAT), and Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETTA) are among the major industry organisations from various states of the country that were part of the programme.