Latin America comes calling, Kerala perks up

KOCHI: For the first time in its history, Kerala Travel Mart has received representatives from Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru, raising the State’s hopes of new tourism markets. “Latin American countries have a small but significant representation here this time proving the widening reach of Kerala tourism,” said KTM president Abraham George. While there are three delegates from Chile, two are from Argentina, four from Brazil and one from Peru. In all, there are over 250 foreign delegates participating in KTM 2014.

As usual, this time too, the biggest foreign contingents are from the UK and Germany, around 50 each. Participation from relatively new markets like Australia, South Africa, Malaysia and China too was encouraging. There is also a strong presence from Scandinavia, Netherlands, Middle East and Eastern Europe. Mr E M Najeeb, a leading tour operator in the state, said houseboat cruises were the initial venture that opened doors of Kerala tourism to the world some 30 year ago. He said close interaction between private and public sectors fuelled the growth of tourism industry here.

“Nearly 14 lakh people are directly employed in the tourism sector and another 10 lakh indirectly. The State revenue from tourism is approximately Rs 25,000 crore a year. The annual government spend is approximately Rs 70-100 core to promote tourism in the state,” he said, adding that the new excise policy of the state would be a setback to the industry.