KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER
Village Life Experience at Kovalam
Experiencing rural life is the in-thing in Kerala. The packages that are now in the offing through 'Village Life Experience' (VLE) as part of the Responsible Tourism (RT) initiatives in the famed beach destination of Kovalam are steps forward to make village-based travel experiences more popular in Kerala. VLE was officially launched recently by the Minister for Tourism, Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at a function held at the Animation Centre at Kovalam.
In his inaugural address, the tourism minister said that VLE is a responsible tourism initiative of Kerala Tourism. One of its aims is to share the benefits arising out of it with the local community; making it worthwhile for all segments of people involved in it.
Through Village Life Experience, which is part of Responsible Tourism (RT), currently taking firm roots in Kovalam near the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, travellers and tourists flocking to this beach destination would have more to savour in the near future itself.
Welcoming the gathering during the inaugural function of VLE, Secretary for Tourism, Dr. Venu, V. said that products like VLE would carve a new tourism culture in Kerala, by which destinations would receive more value addition enabling travellers to widen their spectrum of enjoyment and experiences.
Branded 'Beyond the Beach' the VLE packages will create new tourism experiences, which would have more interactivity of visitors and the local community. Initiatives of this kind allow travellers to explore hitherto lesser known and attractive hinterlands of popular destinations in Kerala. Initially, the package designed for Kovalam would be 'Beyond the Beach @ Kovalam'- a full day package and two half-day packages viz. 'Lake and Life' and 'Traditions and Heritage.' All packages have 13 stopover points, where the guests will have opportunities to experience the lifestyle of the villagers. The packages for Kovalam would have the guests visiting a florist, who supplies garlands to a nearby temple, meet a blacksmith at work, visit to a coir manufacturing unit, rural market and restaurant, Kathakali mask-making unit, handloom weaving unit and other interesting aspects of village life.
Delivering the vote of thanks during the inaugural function of VLE, Director, Kerala Tourism Mr. M. Sivasankar said: "It would be the earnest effort of Kerala Tourism to ensure that well-known destinations and upcoming ones in Kerala are linked to refreshing products and services that would generate further momentum for travellers to remain excited and also to enjoy the destination."
65 to 70 per cent of the benefits tagged to the package would go to the local community. In the process, members of the local community would be encouraged to pursue their traditional vocations and derive decent income from tourism also.
