Chief minister V D Satheesan is flanked by ministers M Liju (excise) and P C Vishnunadh at the inauguration of the Kerala Travel Mart in Kochi on Thursday
Later, at a separate event, the CM officially announced the Kerala International Maritime Museum and Oceanarium Foundation in Kochi and released its logo and approach paper.
“Steps will be taken to introduce cruise shipping tourism from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, he said. Tourism, he added, is an important component of blue economy,” he said. Greater emphasis should be given to value addition in the seafood sector to promote the growth of the seafood industry. Tourism minister P C Vishnunadh presided over the inaugural function while excise minister M Liju was the guest of honour.
Kochi : The state govt has set an ambitious target of five million foreign tourist arrivals in the next five years, besides raising the domestic tourist arrivals to 100 million during the period, chief minister V D Satheesan said on Thursday. In the second phase, the cruise segment will be expanded to 44 rivers of Keralam. At least 50% of the logistics can be shifted to the sea,” the CM said.
Vishnunadh said ‘Be a Malayali for a Day’ initiative would be launched during the next Onam season for tourists to experience Keralam by taking them through the traditional lifestyle and cuisine of Keralites.
The CM said the state has to promote forest tourism, jungle lodges and trekking and similar verticals in a sustainable manner as Keralam’s unique features. Noting that port development was a major component of tourism, Satheesan said the govt has given the nod to Cochin Port to set up a second cruise terminal. Another one is on the anvil in Kozhikode. “We want to integrate all ports and make entire Kerala a port city.