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Mr. Suman Billa, Secretary, Kerala Tourism has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Tourism.
Mr. Suman's association with Kerala Tourism began in 2005 when he was appointed the Director of Kerala Tourism. As director, he was quite meticulous in the planning and implementation of tourism projects and also in marketing the destinations.
In July 2012, Mr. Suman took charge as Secretary, Kerala Tourism, which saw him taking up the mantle of many innovative projects and realized them in a time-bound manner. Some of these projects were the 'Great Backwaters' campaign, the 'Hop-on Hop-off' boat service in the backwaters of Kochi, Visa-on-Arrival service at the international airports in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, reduction of Luxury taxes in hotels to 5% during the off-season, Seaplane service and ‘Kerala Blog Express’. His untiring efforts turned out crucial for the Muziris Heritage Project to make headway and for staging the Kochi-Muziris Biennale; the biggest contemporary art biennale of India.
During his tenure with Government of Kerala, undoubtedly, Mr. Suman will be best remembered for his efforts that led to an agreement with the UNESCO for the promotion and protection of the ancient 'Spice Route Heritage'. He was also instrumental in the conceptualization and organization of online competitions for promoting travellers to Kerala. Clint Memorial International Painting Competition and Online Video Quiz on Ayurveda and Kerala are instances of this.
Mr. Suman showed the way for Kerala Tourism and helped the department to work and look forward as a team. His tenure as Tourism Secretary also saw Kerala bagging many prestigious awards and honours including two PATA Gold Awards, National Tourism Awards and UNWTO Ulysses Award.
