State to focus on adventure tourism
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,Feb.21
According to reports,the inflow of foreign tourists to Kerala increased by 19.43 per cent in 2007 compared to the previous year, making tourism one of the fastest growing sectors in the State, according to Governor R.L. Bhatia.In his address to the State legislature on Wednesday, he said that 4,43,594 foreign tourists visited the State in 2007. Tourism generated a revenue of Rs.9,126 crore for the State in 2006.
He said the Tourism Department would shortly come out with a ‘White Paper on Responsible Tourism’ to guide the government’s future policy initiatives in the sector. The government proposed to develop adventure tourism as a special attraction in the State. A hospitality management institute would be set up in Kozhikode and a ‘Board of Tourism Studies’ would be created shortly to improve the academic content of tourism and hospitality studies.
