3 Crore earmarked for eco tourism projects in Kerala
Published January 15, 2008 | 
Kuttiyadi, Kozhikode: The State Government has allocated a 3 Crore budget outlay for promoting ecotourism projects in the state for the year 2008. Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the eco tourism spot at Janakikkad, 7 Km from kuttiyadi. This project was developed to spread awareness on ecotourism apart from offering the stunning natural spectacles to the visitors. It is located at a sprawling 131 hectares of breathtakingly beautiful land on the banks of the Kuttiyadi River without marring the natural beauty of the surroundings. Visitors would have facilities for trekking, rafting, bird-watching, butterfly tracking and bathing in the river. The Kerala Forest Department would be implementing the project, in association with the Janakikkad Forest Protection Committee.
It is proposed to start ecotourism projects at 75 selected places of which work in 47 centers has already started and nineteen projects have already thrown open to the public. Special emphasis has been given to develop the tourist spots in the Malabar region such as Peruvannamozhi, Thusharagiri and Kakkayam among others. To provide further impetus to the tourism projects in this region, the State Government has allocated almost 50 percent of the total funds. Apart from this a subsidy of 15 percent would be provided to tourism promoters and entrepreneurs making investments in Malabar. It has many untapped regions, worth exploring, which makes it a hot spot for ecotourism projects.
The Tourism Department is planning joint tourism ventures with the assistance of the departments of Forest, Environment, Water Resources, Kerala State Electricity Board Fisheries and Health. The latest entrants in the tourist map of health and hydel tourism are pointers of this new trend. With the introduction of the monsoon tourism package, Kerala has become one of the few destinations in the world that caters to tourism all through the year virtually with no lean phase.
Kerala ranks an impressive 10th position in the international tourist map with a healthy 10% increase in the arrival of tourists. While the foreign tourists accounted for 5 lakh footfalls domestic tourists amounted to 65 lakhs. These days, Indians are giving more importance to vacation plans than ever before thanks to the slashed airfares and a buoyant economy. Gone are the days when tourism used to be a privilege of a hand full of the elite and the well heeled of the society. Today the head turning catchphrase of people’s tourism has changed the conventional equations of tourism industry in the contemporary era.
To promote tourism in grass root levels government is planning to provide financial grants to promote tourism clubs in higher secondary schools. Eco tourism projects are sure to benefit the economy of Kerala as it is naturally blessed with lush green forests, hills and perennial rivers, which makes it a class apart from the umpteen cookie cutter destinations.
