The Tourism Department is planning to restart the Nehru Trophy boat race and the other major boat races this year by following all COVID-19 protocols, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas told the Assembly on Monday.
The annual boat races, which attract a large number of tourists, were not organised in the past two years due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The restarting of the races will strengthen Kerala's tourism sector, said Mr. Riyas.
A major marketing campaign will be launched to promote Ayurveda-based health tourism in the State, as there is an expected influx of tourists in this sector in the post-pandemic period. A classification system will be introduced for Ayurveda centres. He said that the Tourism department is planning a major initiative with the Local Self Government department to promote local tourism destinations. As many as 500 unexplored tourism destinations will be identified in the next five years.
The Caravan Tourism project launched recently has been getting a lot of positive responses as well as enquiries from other States too. Many have come forward to launch caravans, responding to the department's call, while some MLAs have also suggested lcoations in their respective constituencies for setting up caravan parks. Such parks will turn into local cultural centres and will also generate jobs.
By 2022, the project will expand significantly. Comfort stations will be set up in vacant spaces attached to PWD rest houses, he said.
