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The Kerala Government hopes its brand value in tourism will help sell the State as a shopping hub as well.
“Kerala is a well known tourist destination. We want to extend that brand value to shopping too. We still have a long way to go, but efforts are on to make it on par with the shopping festivals in Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia,” said Mr U. V. Jose, Additional Director, Department of Tourism and Director, Grand Kerala Shopping Festival.
Last year, Kerala had 1 crore tourists; of this 93 lakh were domestic tourists with Tamil Nadu accounting for a chunk. Around one-fourth of the tourists visit Kerala during December and January. These months also mark the Sabarimala pilgrim season.
Retail potential
The sixth edition of the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival, from December 1 to January 15, hopes to woo tourists and pilgrims with the State’s retail potential, said Mr Jose.
The shopping festival is an initiative of the Department of Tourism, Kerala.
A total business of Rs 1,000 crore was generated at last year’s shopping festival in which 5,500 merchants participated.
The main draw was gold, followed by textiles and home appliances. The State earned Rs 100 crore from taxes.
This year, over 10,000 merchant establishments are expected to participate in the festival. Brands such as Malabar Gold, Bhima, Josco, Federal Bank and South Indian Bank have come forward to participate in the festival, said Mr Jose.
“The target is to double business this year.”
Local products
This year’s focus will be on local products and handicrafts. Tourists using debit or credit cards will be exempt from VAT, said Mr Jose.
Last year, organisers of the shopping festival spent Rs 40 crore on the event. This year Rs 60 crore will be pumped into the event. Print ads, bus wraps and road-shows across India are being planned. Plans are also on to rope in a brand ambassador for the shopping festival.
The State Government will also hold lucky draws with 101 kg gold as the grand prize, apart from other luxury items.
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