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Kerala may have just joined the league of New York City and Prague and nation states of Denmark, Italy and Hawaii to being called an ideal family destination for tourists.
The State has been chosen for the Best Family Destination instituted by Lonely Planet, a travel magazine of international repute.
CHILD-FRIENDLY
The award was announced at the World Travel Mart in London. It is a leading travel trade event attended by industry representatives from around the world.
S. Harikishore, Director, Kerala Tourism, who led an official delegation to London, received the award. The Travel Mart had begun on Monday and concluded on Thursday.
Lonely Planet named the State as one among the world’s 10 best destinations for taking the family along for a holiday in 2014. It was also described as a child-friendly destination.
“The intensity of travel in India could put you off taking a trip here en famille, but Kerala is a family-friendly version: more laid-back than other regions, greener, slower paced…” the magazine said.
MOOD UPBEAT
There are also lots of national parks for elephant spotting, palm-fringed beaches and boat trips along the lush canals of the backwaters, it added.
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes was among those who visited the Kerala pavilion at the London Mart, which was themed on Ayurveda.
Rhodes, who retired from international cricket in 2003 after a spectacular career, is a brand ambassador for South African Tourism.
Harikishore said that the mood at the London was upbeat with the UK economy registering the fastest quarterly growth in the last three years.
MAJOR MARKET
The UK is the most important market for Kerala, accounting for nearly 1.5 lakh tourist arrivals in the State last year.
“The Mart presented us with a significant opportunity to target for higher growth figures in foreign tourist arrivals,” Harikishore said.
There are signs of recovery in the rest of Europe too, he said, describing how the region has managed to come out of a severe debt crisis.
The official Kerala Tourism delegation to London included 12 co-exhibitors representing the hospitality industry from the State.
At least 5,000 exhibitors, representing 184 countries, attended this year’s Mart, they added.
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