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Kerala can be proudly called ‘God's Own Country’ only when efforts are put in place to ensure security, cleanliness, hygiene, and scientific waste management, apart from offering unique experiences, Mr. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Kerala, has said.
The minister was speaking while inaugurating a two-day workshop by Kerala Tourism held as part of the Green Carpet initiative which he said would go a long way towards achieving these goals.
The minister also remarked that tourism activities should not be confined to just a few tourist centres, but should be extended to other centres as well.
The workshop was aimed at ensuring sustainable development and maintenance of 79 select tourist destinations. A blueprint for 111 short term and long term projects was designed in the workshop.
"The 79 tourist destinations selected for the first phase of the Green Carpet initiative will be turned into distinctive tourism friendly centres," said Mr. U. V. Jose, Director, Kerala Tourism, at the concluding meet.
Mr. S. Harikishore IAS, Executive Director , Kudumbashree, Ms. Vasuki IAS, Executive Director, Suchitwa Mission, Mr. S. Sugathan, Executive Director, Green Village, Mr. G. Shankar, Director, Habitat, Mr. Roopesh Kumar, State Field Coordinator, Responsible Tourism, Mr. S. D. Prins, PRO, Raj Bhavan, Dr. Shekhar L. Kuriakose, Member Secretary , Disaster Management Authority , Dr V. Vijayakumar, Principal, KITTS, Prof. Saroop Roy, and Prof. Raghunandanan (IRCTC) conducted classes on various topics.
Destination Managers of tourist destinations, Deputy Directors, and District Tourism Promotional Council (DTPC) Secretaries attended the workshop at Maria Rani Centre, Sreekaryam.