KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER
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ISSUE: 217 SEPTEMBER 2011
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Southern tourism ministers' conference concludes
The two-day conclave of second Southern Regional Conference of Tourism Ministers held in Kollam recently adopted a resolution to seek a new perspective and joint strategies for tourism development in the region Tourism Ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Puducherry and tourism officials from the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep attended the meeting.
Mr. Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism inaugurated the conference. Mr. Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala, was the chief guest and Mr. A. P. Anilkumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala, presided over the function. Mr. R. H. Khwaja, Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary in Union Ministry of Tourism, and Mr. Sanjay Kothari, Additional Secretary in Union Ministry of Tourism, addressed the meeting.
Strategies for promotion of intra and inter-state domestic tourism; identification of common tourist circuits and destinations and their development through integrated planning; increasing public-private partnership (PPP) and convergence of resources; future perspectives and tactics for tourism development were discussed at the meet. A presentation on the tourism development projects in the 12th Five-Year Plan was done by Mr. Anand Kumar.
Plans to evaluate tourism-related courses conducted by private educational institutions and to issue certificates by the government for the qualified courses, coordination with other departments to ensure more facilities for the tourists and provision of Central funds for the development of destinations in Kerala were mooted by Kerala Tourism. It also laid stress on the infrastructure development at important tourism spots.
The delegates later visited Ashtamudi Lake, the second largest lake in Kerala which is being developed as a planned destination by Kerala Tourism.
