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V. Sajeev Kumar

Kochi, Nov. 1 Come December, Kerala will host a mega shopping festival organised by the State Government, on the model of the Dubai Shopping Festival, to boost trade and commerce in the State.

The 45-day event christened as Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF), which will be held between December 1 and January 15, 2008, is intended to promote tourism as well as traditional trading activities to coincide with the tourism season in Kerala.

All the 14 districts in the State will gear up to organise sales events besides cultural and entertainment programmes to attract tourists and buyers from India and abroad. About one lakh business establishments, including retail stores, manufacturers, traders, service providers, restaurants and resorts will be part of the shopping festival showcasing handicrafts, handloom fabric, marine products, coir, cashew, spices and so on.The Ernakulam District Collector, Mr Mohammed Haneesh, who is also the Chairman of district committee of GKSF, told Business Line that the State Government plans to make the shopping fest a regular annual event. The objective is to transform the State into a major international shopping destination in about five years. The Government has announced prizes worth Rs 10 crore in the form of luxury cars, consumer durables and holiday packages.

He pointed out that the Government is expecting a sales turnover of Rs 250 crore from the 45-day fest, of which Rs125 crore would be generated from Ernakulam district alone. First round of discussions with the trading community has been completed and the authorities have started registration and ad campaigns in various sectors. By November 15, “we intend to rope in 12,000 mercantile establishments in Kochi to participate in the event”, he added.

Any merchant establishment in the State can register its business under different categories to get advertisement and technical support. Only traders, who provide quality products would be allowed to participate through certain membership procedures. The organisers will provide promotional materials and formulate projects to promote business of participating establishments, he added.

The festival will be organised with the support of the Departments of Industries, Tourism, Finance, Cultural Affairs, Revenue and Local Administration.

More Stories on : Shopping | Events | Kerala

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