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Lonely Planet has picked Kerala as one of the world’s ten best destinations for holidays with family in 2014. Kerala received the Lonely Planet award for the ‘best family destination’ during the World Travel Mart (WTM) London recently, which is a leading travel trade event attended by industry representatives from all over the world. Mr. S Harikishore, Director, Kerala Tourism, who led the State delegation to WTM London, received the award.
Kerala joins New York, Denmark, Prague, Iceland, Italy, Hawaii, Belize, Thailand and Lapland in the category of destinations for family holidays. Kerala was also identified by Lonely Planet as a child-friendly destination. Lonely Planet reckons that the intensity of travel in India could put one off. But Kerala turns out as a family-friendly version. It is more laid-back than other regions and greener. Moreover, there are lots of national parks for elephant spotting, palm-fringed beaches and boat trips along the lush canals of the backwaters, it observes.
“WTM London presented us with a significant opportunity to target higher growth figures for Kerala Tourism with regard to foreign tourist arrivals in the coming years. Encouragingly, there are signs of recovery too in the rest of Europe after a severe debt crisis. We are also very honoured to have received such a prestigious award from Lonely Planet and being named among the best destinations for family travel,” said Mr. Harikishore, Director, Kerala Tourism.
The Kerala delegation included 12 co-exhibitors representing the hospitality industry from the State. They were Abad Hotels & Resorts, Carnoustie Beach Resort and Ayurveda Spa, Intersight Tours & Travels, Jayasree Travels and Tours, Joy’s Resorts & Hotels, KTDC Hotels & Resorts, Kumarakom Lake Resort, Lake Palace Resort, Spiceland Holidays, Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel & Spa, Vythiri Resort and Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala.
Several key members of the world’s travel trade industry visited the Kerala pavilion at WTM London, which showcased the State as the ‘Home of Ayurveda’. The pavilion received thousands of visitors during the four-day event. As many as 5000 exhibitors attended this year’s WTM, representing 184 countries and regions. The United Kingdom is the most important market for Kerala, recording nearly 0.15 million tourist arrivals in the State last year.
Mr. Jonty Rhodes, former South African cricketer and brand ambassador for his country’s tourism visited the Kerala pavilion at WTM.
