KTF- 2007 – AN OVERVIEW

Inauguration

The Travel Division of Kerala.com,a premier online travel service provider and leading web portal on Kerala, organized a three-day tourism festival in the city  on Mar.31rst,Apr1rst and 2nd, at TDM Hall in Kochi to open up new vistas in travel and stay and to enable tourists to make use of the facilities currently available at the various scenic spots in God’s own country.The  Kerala Tourism Festival,  KTF 2007 was inaugurated by KTDC chairman Mr.Cherian Philip at 10.30 am  at a grand function in the auditorium where many dignitaries offered their felicitations. Mr.Sebastion Paul,M.P., Mr. Tissan Thachangiri, G.S.A., Sahara Airlines, Mr.Ravimon,chairman, Worldviewer.com, Mr.Tom Vellaringattu, president, Worldviewer.com and Mr.Siby George, managing director,Kerala.com were some of them.

Mr.Siby George opined, "This is the second time that we are organizing such a festival. We hope that the offers of budget hotel and economy tour packages that the festival provided, will especially facilitate tourism among the middle class."

Exhibition & Entertainment
A highlight of the festival was a photo exhibition with exhibits presented by  Anil Vestal,Naseer and other nature enthusiasts and wild life photographers on varied themes relating to art,culture,heritage and wildlife in Kerala.

The cultural nights that were co ordinated by Cochin Universal led by Nadir Shah and his team, included variety entertainment programmes performed by artistes from Malabar,Cochin and Travancore and they were held in the evenings at Durbar Hall ground, as part of this mega festival.

The KTF  attracted thousands of tourists and vacationers from Kerala and outside.
The stalls  which numbered around seventy, offered attractive packages and discount rates. Owners and promoters of houseboats, hotels, resorts, theme parks, health spas, ayurvedic centres as well as travel agencies and tour operators  were the participants.

The winners of the lucky dips that were conducted every quarter hour were given offers of free stays with families at selected tourist spots. Painting and quiz contests were held for school children and the winners were entitled to avail attractive offers of tour packages to destinations of their choice at nominal rates.

Good participation
Indian and foreign tourists, visiting NRIs,honeymooners and vacationers, students and families visited the fair in large numbers.  It unveiled before the visitors the possibilities of exploring the unexplored places of interest and the roads less travelled in Kerala, and imparted information on the various provisions and novel facilities that are presently being offered in backwater cruising, adventure tourism, leisure travel,eco tourism, homestay packages, farm tourism, etc catering to the interests of both the adventurous backpacker and the casual tourist alike.

The stalls vied with one another to offer an assortment of tour packages to suit the middle class and upper middle class budget among the discerning travelers.

The packages included farm stays, ayurveda packages, adventure and sports activities, jungle safaris, homestays, house boat trips, as well as trips to wild life sanctuaries, bamboo rafting, fishing and trekking, all at reasonably reduced rates. Some of the stalls came with attractive instalment schemes. The stalls offered the travelers a wide range of destinations in the state to choose from.
With the aggressive and collective campaigning that took place months in advance, giving the festival the desired publicity,The KTF 2007 was undoubtedly a huge success.