The Hindu Business Line : Travel film fest in September

The event is being organised by the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS), Institute of Journalism Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, said Mr K.C. Venugopal, State Minister for Tourism.

Besides short films on travel, the festival will also feature travel-related ad films, short films on culture and art forms, and other travel-related documentaries, he explained. "We hope to make the travel film festival a regular event," he added.

Kerala Tourism will support the event, which is expected to generate greater interest in travel and also encourage the growth of the travel and tourism media in the country.

Screening sessions at the three-day film festival will be based on themes, and will include special shows for the public. A seminar on travel, culture and film will also be organised as part of the festival. The event's organisers also plan to invite well-known travel writers from across the world to participate in the festival.

Meanwhile, Kerala Tourism is looking at the possibility of developing medical tourism in the State, said Mr Venugopal. Many visitors at the Arab Travel Mart 2005, held recently in Dubai, have expressed an interest in exploring health tourism opportunities in the State, he added.

In the next few months, the tourism department also plans to launch the `My Village, Tourism Friendly Village' project in select panchayats in the State, he said. This initiative is intended to encourage rural tourism and also improve the basic infrastructure in rural areas.

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Travel film fest in September

One for the road