The Kerala Government is pressing the Centre to grant Visa-on-arrival facility for foreign tourists who land at the State's airports, the State Tourism Minister Mr A. P. Anilkumar has said.

Inaugurating a seminar on tourism infrastructure in Kerala organised by the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the Minister said that he along with the Chief Minister had requested Union Home Minister Mr P. Chidambaram to enable this facility in at least one airport in Kerala.

Elaborating on issues that are hampering tourist inflow to different destinations in the State, Mr Anilkumar said that many tourist locales need better upkeep and steps to scientifically manage garbage. “Decentralised garbage-treatment plants are the need of the hour. Tourism spots also need better road, rail and air connectivity. Inadequate road connectivity and bad roads are hampering the flow of tourists to idyllic spots like Bekal”, he said.

The Government has an open mind on public-private participation in tourism ventures. A global village has been planned in Kochi, in connection with the annual Grand Kerala Shopping Festival.

Mr Anilkumar said that Kerala Tourism was a trendsetter in India on beginning a major marketing initiative to promote tourism. “Now, the State is facing stiff competition from neighbouring States, Goa and Gujarat, apart from countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand. We now have to market our destinations better,” he said.

The Traffic Manager of the Cochin Port Trust, Mr C. Unnikrishnan Nair made a presentation on ‘Opportunities in the cruise-tourism sector'. He pointed out that only 10 per cent of the opportunities are being utilized. The port is trying to establish a world-class cruise terminal at the 15,000 sq.ft area. The cruise tourists are on the lookout for ethnic products that are not available elsewhere and attention must be given to this,” he said.

He spoke of how each of the high-value tourists on board these vessels spent $ 150 to $ 200 per day in Kochi. Sixty-three per cent of the cruise tourists who arrived in Kochi cited a cruise in the backwaters as their best experience, he said.

Making a presentation on ‘Cochin International Airport: A success story', the airport's Senior Manager (Operations) Mr Dinesh Kumar said that the airport, ranks fourth in India in handling international travellers. It would soon have a new international terminal covering a million-sq.ft area, capable of handling 2,000 incoming and 2,000 outgoing travellers during peaks hours.

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