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Vaikom, a picturesque village that has a rich culture, heritage and history, located along the backwaters of Vembanad has been declared a tourist destination recently. The Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, in an order, included Vaikom and nine panchayats adjoining it as a Tourism destination under its Destination Management Programme. Earlier in 2017, the Department of Tourism implemented PEPPER (People’s Participation for Planning and Empowerment through Responsible Tourism) project in Vaikom on an experimental basis. The project, which relied on active local participation, stirred up keen interest among the residents and local bodies of Vaikom in tapping the tourism potential of the place. Grama sabhas in all the local bodies conducted meetings that discussed tourism programmes; tourism directory and tourism packages were developed; training programmes for resource persons were conducted; and projects implemented.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran remarked that the massive involvement of the local people through the PEPPER project prompted the state government to declare Vaikom as a tourist destination. He added that considering the success in Vaikom, similar projects to ensure local participation were being initiated in 48 other locations. The State Co-ordinator for Kerala RT Mission, K. Rupesh Kumar said, "About 14,518 tourists have visited the destinations so far as part of PEPPER, and the revenue from their visits is estimated to be around Rs 2.14 crores. The RT Mission currently runs 14 experiential tour packages in the region," he said.
PEPPER has imparted training to 976 persons who were selected to be part of the tourism activities in Vaikom. Around 448 tourism ventures and 15 accommodation units were also planned and prepared as part of the project. A dozen other tourism projects including a Global Tourism Village are also being developed in the place.
