Travel and Tourism Magazine Aviation Herald | Travel Trade | Kerala Tourism Destination

Director K R Abhilash featured In Aviation Herald

In an wonderful article was featured in the September 2012 issue of
the Aviation Herald about the latest tourism trends in Kerala. In this article,
Kairali Ayurvedic Group Director K R
Abhilash was mentioned many a times.

Aviation Herald is a monthly news
magazine reporting on and for the Indian Travel and Tourism industry. This
magazine has a hot focus to streamline news and analysis relevant to this
industry in a crisp format. The magazine combines a range of current news
stands across each of the industry?s verticals, backed by analysis perspective.
The magazine?s content aims towards helping readers by providing single window
of research that provided insights on the Travel Trade.

Infrastructure Boost key to a growing
Kerala Tourism

Keys to growing Kerala
Tourism

? Need for good roads, better
infrastructure, tourism friendly excise policy, favorable tax structures etc.

? Tourism enterprises needed the
empowerment of a conducive ?enabling environment? and not barriers

? Going by the current and future
projections of tourism growth, dramatic need to boost infrastructure

? Fast tracked, Visa-on-arrival
(VoA), in Kerala at all the three major airports will boost arrivals.

? More countries should be added in
VoA list, especially the countries that constitute most of the tourist arrivals
to Kerala.

? Enhanced marketing activities in
the Middle East countries because of Kerala?s direct air connectivity with the
region

? Establish direct air connectivity
with key European source markets

? Need to develop new tourism
products like theme parks, adventure tourism products and highway tourism

Kerala ? the land of
evergreen beautiful nature, rivers, backwaters, beaches, cool hills, and the
spice plantations, has been at the forefront of promoting tourism and has
emerged as the biggest tourism brand in India. The Infrastructure boost key to
a growing Kerala Tourism destination received 732,000 international and 9.3
million domestic tourists last year. In the recently released new tourism policy,
Kerala has envisaged a target of quadrupling inbound tourists to 3 million by
2021 at an ambitious rate of 15 per cent. The domestic arrival is being
targeted at a rate of 7 per cent annually to reach 18 million over the next ten
years.

Backed by a pro-active
private sector, Kerala tourism has clearly exhibited the need to grow the
sector considering its contribution to the state?s economy.

According to E M
Najeeb, Chairman & Managing Director, Airtravel Enterprises, ?Government is
fully aware of the need for developing tourism as a major economic driver and
is committed to it. The Government takes the lead in this effort by allocating
funds, making policies, applying regulations, supporting the industry and
promoting the destination in major markets. There are no serious issues
affecting tourism in Kerala at present except for the need for good roads,
better infrastructure, tourism friendly excise policy, favorable tax
structures, etc.

Industry veteran Jose
Dominic, MD & CEO, CGH Earth, and Chairman, CII Kerala State Council, says,
?The new standards of tourism is not about how many people come but that how
tourism can contribute to the economic and social spheres. The uniqueness of
Kerala Tourism products is ?small and local? which is also in sync with the
sustainable tourism measures.? Dominic insists that Kerala?s turnaround from a
laggard state to a performing state has been achieved not by the outsiders but
local entrepreneurs.

He says that the key
industry issues in the tourism sector in Kerala are similar to that of India.
?Unfortunately tourism is still considered as the peripheral, incidental and
insignificant, despite its capability to generate livelihood and transform the
remote and rural areas. We need the regulatory interference to preserve the
ecology and cultural heritage; while at the same time we also need the empowerment
of ?enabling environment? for enterprises to prove and grow. However, the
primary issue is that instead of enablement we are putting barriers at the
peril of such enterprises,? he said

Pointing at the direct
air connectivity between Kerala and the Middle East countries, Cochin
headquartered national travel body IAAI (IATA Agents association of India)
President Biji Eapen said, ?Considering the ambitious tourism targets in the
new State tourism policy, there is an urgent need to undertake massive marketing
activities in these countries in order to draw high yield tourists. Besides,
the state also needs to push for direct air connectivity with the key European
source markets.?

Eapen further added
that there is an equally urgent need to ramp up airport and other tourism
related infrastructure and add new products like theme parks, adventure tourism
products and other innovative niche products like ?highway tourism? in the
state.

He said VoA at
airports in Kerala to countries with direct air connectivity will be a real
shot in the arm. Eapen also remarked that there is a need to look at taxation
in air, road and hotel sector in order to make Kerala more competitive.

A young entrepreneur and at the
forefront of taking brand Kerala and one of its key offering Ayurveda, globally,
Kairali Ayurvedic GroupDirector K R Abhilash, insists that the infrastructure needs to improve
dramatically considering the growth rate at which this industry has been and
will be expecting. Visa on arrival if fast tracked in Kerala at all 3 major airports
will definitely boost arrivals. Also, more countries should be added in VOA
list especially the countries that constitute most of the tourist
arrivals to Kerala.

KTM boost to Kerala

?The very
fact that the participation in the mart is growing year-on-year is an
indication of it success. The mart is most beneficial to small and medium
players as well as new entrants who would otherwise find it difficult to
participate in International marts. It is also a platform to meet and renew
contacts.Riaz Ahmed, President, KTM Society

“KTM has
emerged as top rated exhibition. It?s greatest contribution has been in
providing the smaller suppliers platform to market their products to domestic
and international buyers. However, there is a need now to conduct the event
in a way that smaller exhibitors see as well as acknowledge more merit in the
event.? Biji Eapen

“KTM?s
format has been well appreciated and remains attractive to the buyers,
sellers and the entire tourism industry. Through all the previous editions,
we could notice continuous growth in its volume of participation and
materialization of business. There is no major change needed in the format of
KTM at present? Najeeb

?KTM gave
many a small tour operators, hotels, resorts and other ?small and unseen? to
showcase their products, resulting in the event being highly attractive for
both, international as well as the domestic buyers. Many states have taken
lesson from Kerala and did likewise. Today, KTM?s major challenge is to
differentiate between Kerala and the rest of India. After seven editions the
time will come for KTM to reinvent itself according to the changing face of
tourism, becoming more experiential and local? Dominic

?KTM has been a very productive milestone
for Kerala Tourism. It has constantly evolved with time. I think the current
format is quite adequate and beneficial for the Industry? Abhilash

Growing
KTM