Noting that youngsters have become the brand ambassadors of Kerala Tourism, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas has said that tourism clubs in colleges, set up to promote youth participation in tourism sector, have a significant role in creating best tourism practices in Kerala.
Speaking after launching the website of the tourism club initiative, www.tourismclubkerala.org, here on Wednesday, the Minister said the clubs would help foster professional skills among the youth for making use of the job opportunities in the tourism sector.
The ‘Kerala story’ of warm hospitality, harmony and secular mindset was the vital factor that attracted tourists to the State and marked its place firmly on the world tourism map, the Minister said. The tourism clubs had ensured active participation of students in the sector, giving an impetus to the development of tourism across the State.
Upkeep
Stating that the upkeep of tourism centres was vital, he said tourism clubs had been engaged on an experimental basis at the at Akkulam Tourist Village for its maintenance. The club members gave a facelift to the centre by beautifying the walls with paintings, repairing lamps and doing electrification.
He recalled the role played by tourism clubs in the successful conduct of Onam celebrations at the State and district-levels. “Keralite expatriates in some countries are actively engaged in promoting Kerala Tourism. The Department of Tourism plans to bolster its interventions to expand such activities,” he said.
Colleges can submit applications on the website to establish tourism clubs. The Minister said tourism clubs functioned in 382 colleges at present and they had around 18,000 members.
Prizes given
The Minister gave away prizes to the winners of the ‘Tourism Clubs Reels Contest’ conducted by Kerala Tourism as part of the World Tourism Day celebrations. Aslin N. (Kozhikode) and Vaisakh A.L. (Thiruvananthapuram) won the first and second prizes respectively.
Tourism Director P.B. Nooh said 382 colleges in the State had been given approval for setting up tourism clubs. These included 48 engineering colleges, seven law colleges, 265 arts and science colleges, 17 polytechnics, five private ITIs, six teacher training institutes, nine university campuses and 25 other institutions.
