Fly direct to the last paradise on earth of the Maldives
Published January 23, 2008 | 
Thiruvanathapuram: The national carrier of the Maldives, Island Aviation Services Ltd will fly direct flights from Male international airport to Thiruvananthapuram international airport with effect from January 25.
The Republic of Maldives is made up of a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean and is situated to the south of the Indian islands of Lakshadweep.
Touted as ‘the last paradise on earth’, Maldives flaunts endless stretches of white sandy beaches dotted with coconut palms and azure blue waters and lagoons, which offers post card settings to the tourists. The direct flight from Thiruvanathapuram would throw open the tourism channels of this stunning island nation to thousands of tourists from Kerala. It is estimated that over 30,000 Maldivians visit the city for treatment, shopping and for educating the children. The flight service would also make their transit hassle free.
The Managing Director of IAS Bandhu I. Saleem said that it is going to be the first ever international flight of this Government owned airline from the suuny island of Maldives. The airline, which at present is only operating inter-island services will be employing 50-seater Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft on this circuit.
The Q2 700 light from Male will depart at 3.30 PM. to reach Thiruvananthapuram at 5.40 PM. In the return, the Q2 701 flight will depart at 6.10 PM. to reach Male at 7.20 PM, traversing the 417 nautical miles between Thiruvananthapuram international airport and Male international airport within 80 minutes.
The airline has appointed Spencer’s Travel Services Ltd (STSL) as the General Sales Agent of the airline and V. Stanley Paulus as the Cargo Sales Agent in the city. The special introductory fare package of the airline has a one way fare of Rs.4,468 and two way fare of Rs.8,089. This direct flight is estimated to bring in a swell in the tourism prospects of Kerala in the days to come.
Kerala Shopping festival in Alappuzha hogs limelight
Published January 17, 2008 | 
Alappuzha: Kerala seems to have followed the footsteps of the global shopping destinations like Dubai in luring the avid shoppers by conducting festivals and galas. The Alappuzha shopping fete could rake in Rs.65 crore and 118 shops participated in this venture. Considering the fact that this event was the first of its type, the venture was a huge success.
The media hype and publicity campaigns ensured drumming up of public support to this shopping festival and thousands of shoppers thronged to get a hang of the one stop shop experience. From electrical and electronics gadgets to garments and leather goods it touched upon virtually every segment of consumer goods.
The festival was from December 1 to January 5 and the shops, which participated in the fete had announced over 80,000 gift coupons and attractive discount vouchers to add impetus to the marketing campaign. The South Zone lucky draw will be held on the Alappuzha beach on January 18 and the mega draw is scheduled to be held at Thiruvananthapuram on January 22.
So far, 64 Santro cars and 64 Sony Plasma television sets have already been distributed to customers who had made purchases above Rs.1,000. Encouraged by the big success of this year’s shopping fete, the District Industries Centre is planning to conduct a similar show on a bigger scale next year also to cash in on the buoyant economy and an impressive purchasing capacity of the general public. In addition hundreds of smaller gifts were offered through the scratch-and-win coupons and weekly lucky draws.
When the curtains came down on this Grand Kerala Shopping Festival on Tuesday, authorities were basking under the glory of a run away hit with commercial transactions to the tune of Rs.65 crore from Alappuzha alone. Happy shopping days are here again!