THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Tourism will give more thrust on infrastructure development at important tourism spots and provide basic facilities at areas which can be converted into new destinations to attract tourists.The two-day regional conference of the tourism ministers from the Southern States which will be held in Kollam on August 20 and 21 will focus on infrastructure development. There will also be a review of the expenditure of Central funds for the development of tourism spots in Kerala.Tourism Secretary V Venu told Express that the inter-state issues related to tourism would also come up for discussions.The experience of tourism development in the Southern States would be presented and the success stories could be replicated in similar areas.The inclusion of tourism development projects in the Five-Year Plan will be identified at the conference. New destinations which can be developed as tourism spots will be highlighted and proper infrastructure needed will be worked out.Rani George, Tourism Director, told Express that human resource development would be given more focus by the tourism department as there were scarcity of experienced and qualified hands in Kerala. There are plans to evaluate tourism related courses by private educational institutions and provide certificates by the government for the qualified courses.“A certificate from the government will help in increasing the quality of education which will be recognised by the tourism industry. Along with the government institutions, the private ones could also bring out experts in this field,” she said.As part of infrastructure development, the tourism department plans to coordinate with other departments to ensure more facilities for the tourists. Tourism department will take the initiative for identifying the areas which needs improvement and give representation to the respective departments.The major tourist spots in Kerala too need more development apart from adding facilities at new destinations. The conference will also discuss about inter-state tourism marketing with the support of the government of each state.According to Rani George, the cooperation of the neighbouring states not only help increase the domestic tourism sector, but also foreign tourists. If South India is marketed as one destination, the tourist flow will also increase, she added.The involvement of private sector in developing new destinations will be promoted by the Union Government.The need for Central and State funding for infrastructure development and involvement of private investors in destination development will also be discussed.
Comments
0 comment