February 08: Directing the Kerala state to move towards declaring the state as an RT destination, Suman Billa, director of Technical Cooperation and Silk Road, UNWTO said that Kerala should focus on ramping up its commitment to practice responsible tourism.
He further added that this must happen in light of the preferences of the consumer weighing towards zero food miles and zero-carbon destinations in the present scenario alongside the factoring environmental costs beyond the economic costs. Sharing his take during a session at the three days Kerala Looks Ahead global conference and consultation, he said, while addressing the session that Kerala is famous for its products like wellness, houseboats, homestays and it is high time that now they must focus on emerging strongly.
Billa further added that UNWTO has described 2020 as the worst year in terms of tourism activities with international tourist arrivals falling by 74 per cent. The director claimed that the Spice Route project is an ideal vehicle to take forward Kerala’s tourism to the next level in order to expand its footprint in the key markets.
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He quoted at the session as saying, “Kerala also needs to add ‘instagrammable’ activities to attract the younger clientele. For that, we must first promote domestic tourism. Health tourism can also provide enough opportunities. We have now tailored our tourism policy to suit to the COVID times. The adventure tourism academy in Thiruvananthapuram is in the final stages and in Malabar we are linking eight rivers of Kannur and Kasaragod to promote cruise tourism.”
