Kerala Tourism woos European tourists
January 22 (TravelAndy): Kerala’s many advantages as tourism destination were on full display for the Dutch and other European travellers at the five-day Vakantiebeurs 2017, the biggest tourism trade event in the Netherlands.
Laidback cruises on serene backwaters and Ayurveda rejuvenation therapies showcased at the Kerala pavilion grabbed attention and generated several enquiries at Vakantiebeurs 2017, which was held in the city of Utrecht from January 10-15 and drew up to 108,000 visitors.
Spread over 18sqm, the Kerala pavilion marked the state’s first appearance at the trade fair which is held annually in the second week of January in Utrecht and provides a gateway to the highly promising Dutch and European markets.
For Kerala Tourism, the Netherlands is the 11th biggest originating market with 22,276 tourist arrivals registered during 2015, a 40 per cent increase from 2010.
“South India is yet to get as much attention in the Dutch market as the north of the country, and Vakantiebeurs was a chance for us to close the gap,” said the south Indian state’s tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran. “Our promotional campaigns in such prestigious fairs will help Kerala compete not just with north Indian destinations but international ones such as Sri Lanka and Thailand.”
Publicity materials will be distributed to the end consumers in Dutch, said tourism director U.V. Jose.
“Kerala offers the advantage of easy linkages as well. Jet Airways flies to Mumbai and Delhi directly from Amsterdam, and has plans to operate direct flights to a southern Indian destination in the future which will benefit Kerala Tourism even more,” Jose said.
