Kerala Tourism’s RT Mission will implement the project in the central Indian state under a 16-point programme. An official agreement in this regard is scheduled to be signed on January 13.

On the eve of the ceremony, a high-level delegation from Bhopal will begin a week’s tour of Kerala to gather first-hand knowledge about RT in the State. The 13-member team is to be led by Madhya Pradesh Tourism and Culture Department Minister Usha Thakur.

A few States in the country are implementing the Kerala-model RT, but Madhya Pradesh will be the first to sign a pact with the government. The nodal officers for the project will be Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board Director Manoj Kumar Singh and Kerala RT Mission coordinator K. Rupeshkumar. Once the delegation from Bhopal returns, a team of Kerala RT Mission will make a visit to Madhya Pradesh.

Kerala’s Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran expressed pleasure over other States emulating Kerala’s RT model. “Of late, other states also have evinced interest in launching the Kerala-model RT. We will be happy to cooperate with them in implementing RT as a social development initiative,” he added.

Kerala Tourism Secretary Rani George said the RT Mission has 20,000 units and 109,000 beneficiaries in Kerala. It has given local people a combined income of Rs 38 crore from the state’s tourism sector.

Kerala Tourism Director P. Bala Kiran said the launch of RT in other parts of the country opens before the state a wide range of opportunities. Our RT Mission can provide its expertise to other states as a professional service.

RT in Kerala emerged as a state mission in October 2017 from what began as a project in four centres of Kottayam district. From then on, the endeavour which strives for social, economic and environmental responsibilities has been winning several national and international honours including the World Travel Market (WTM) award 2020.

The Kerala Tourism’s MoU with Madhya Pradesh features a 16-point programme. They are the following: implement Kerala’s RT projects in Madhya Pradesh in ways that suit that state, to help Madhya Pradesh chart its RT masterplan, to ready the human resources to implement the project, conduct training projects, list the criteria for the formation of district tourism promotion councils, locate sustained tourism projects so as to carry out RT projects, formulate social and economic security measures, help in gradation of hotels, resorts and homestays, form tourism clubs, lavatories and restrooms on lines of Kerala’s RT,

The programme also include : discover human resources in respective tourism centres, find out regional craft and make souvenirs out of them in tune with RT, carry out tourism packages during celebratory occasions, conduct study on the security of tourist centres and their audit, train staff in social tourism projects and formulate the code of conduct in tourist centres.

RT has succeeded in grooming new tourist centres and enabling the state in implementing the pioneering project called PEPPER (People’s Participation for Participatory Planning and Empowerment Through Responsible Tourism). The core idea of the project is to render services locally for the tourism industry. It provides the tourists an experience of the state’s rural life, and sourcing food for hotels and resorts from the people in the vicinity.

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Kerala Tourism wrapped itself in glory as its internationally-acclaimed ‘Human by Nature’ campaign on September 24 bagged the prestigious PATA Grand Award 2020 for Marketing, giving a huge stimulus to tourism industry in the State that is grappling with the adverse aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The icing on the cake for Kerala Tourism is that it has bagged one of the three PATA Grand Awards, which were announced live during a virtual presentation ceremony in Beijing.

The distant event was attended by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Secretary Rani George; Tourism Director P. Bala Kiran; PATA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mario Hardy; and Macao Government Tourism Office (MGT) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.

It was for the first time that this year’s PATA Gold Awards, supported and sponsored by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), were announced virtual since its inception in 1995. This year’s awards recognised the achievements of three Grand title winners and 21 Gold Awards.

Expressing happiness over winning the top award, Mr. Surendran said ‘Human by Nature’ was a brilliant marketing strategy to revive tourism that had suffered a severe knocking in the wake of the 2018 floods and the outbreak of the Nipah virus.

The idea of a new campaign showcasing the culture and daily life of the people of Kerala put forth by Kerala Tourism was conceptualised and scripted by Stark Communications.

The campaign which was carried out in national and international channels, newspapers, magazines, portals and airport displays in key cities helped in achieving Kerala’s record growth rate of 17.2 per cent in 2019, the highest growth rate in tourism arrivals in 24 years.

“I believe the latest award would provide a huge stimulus to the state’s ongoing efforts to rev up our tourism sector through innovative means as it is the mainstay of Kerala’s economy and contributes around 10 per cent of the state’s GDP. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to reboot the travel sector with focus on domestic tourism and safety at every point of destination,” the minister said.

Mrs. George said: “The PATA Grand Award is a huge affirmation of the creative brilliance of our marketing campaigns and it shows that the Human by Nature campaign has struck the right note with global travellers.’’

“Right now we are in the process of supporting the tourism sector with revival package schemes. Our efforts are also geared towards putting in place SOPs for the tourism stakeholders and be a responsible tourism destination, thereby giving the tourists confidence to visit the State,” she said.

Mr. Bala Kiran said, “We are trying to rejuvenate our tourism sector by innovative business models that would create reassurance for travellers and ensure a responsible and sustainable tourism industry. We need to win the trust of travellers. That is going to be the cardinal driving force for tourism industry in the state.”

The PATA Gold Awards 2020 attracted 121 entries from 62 organisations and individuals worldwide. The winners were selected by an independent judging committee of 16 personalities from various destinations.

Overall, PATA 2020 presented 21 Gold Awards and three Grand Title Winners for best of show entries in the categories of Marketing, Sustainability and Human Capital Development. This year, PATA enhanced the Gold Awards by introducing several new categories in order to reinforce its position as an innovative and prestigious award for the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. New categories included Climate Change Initiative, Tourism for All, and Youth Empowerment Initiative.

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In Kerala they say during Onam, ‘Even if you have to sell your most valuable things, you have to relish Onam feast’ (Kaanam vittum Onam unnanam’). This time another saying would come to their aid, ‘Enjoy Onam with what you have’ (Ullathu kondu Onam pole). Onam 2020 will be like no other in recent memories.

Malayalis rush home to Kerala from all corners of the world if they can to celebrate the harvest festival of Onam. This year, Onam for Malayalis across the world would be a much subdued affair. Gone is the rush to the bazaars on Uthradom day to stock up for the feast during Onam days. With social distancing the norm, and COVID-19 playing truant, Malaylis can’t come together to revive the old memories at their ancestral home this year. Some have planned an Onam online. Even as the government claim that the death rate and infection rate is way below the average, this unusual times call for vigil and caution.

Even Kerala Tourism has taken the grand celebrations online. Its 10-day festival started on August 22 and will draw to a close on September 2. The Tourism Department’s ‘Onam Fest Kerala’ features a bouquet of heritage arts and celebratory rituals alongside new-age cultural programmes—all of it online. Of the events beamed so far, the Panchari Melam ensemble alone earned as many as one million eyeballs.

Grand feasts, enthralling boat races, traditional art forms and a pookalam in each courtyard, #Onam is #Kerala at her prettiest. #HappyOnam pic.twitter.com/3QrH2LPDJi

— Kerala Tourism (@KeralaTourism) September 4, 2017

On the day of Thiruonam (August 31) is a Kathakali show, followed by a live band performance and an Onam theme film the subsequent days. On August 29 was Family Onam Celebrations and Job Kurian’s music show (is on Sunday). All programmes are at 7 pm.

The ‘Sadya’ banquet was up on social media on the afternoon of August 27, with a row of people in ethnic Kerala dress sitting cross-legged on floor-mats and eating with the hand an array of dishes for the rice served on banana leaves. The classical value of different types of curries, fried vegetables, rounded pappadams, pickles, chutneys and two courses of payasam desserts came to the fore with the anchor explaining (in English) the order and manner of serving each dish, besides a brief on their ingredients and recipe.

A message Kerala Tourism’s Facebook page says is quite relevant during this testing times. ‘This Onam, let us relive the good times when Mahabali ruled the land and people lived in peace and harmony’.

For the past three years, various natural disasters have struck this small piece of land on the southern tip of India. Legend has it that Lord Parashuram threw his axe and the seawater receded to reveal the land that is Kerala. The past three years have seen the verdant land struck repeatedly by floods throwing normal life out of gear. As if the waters are claiming back what is rightfully theirs.

Each time when it overcomes misfortunes and tragedy and gets into a celebratory mood, misfortune strikes the land and the people again. It is in the midst of this that Keralites are celebrating Onam 2020. Donning new traditional clothes (shirt and dhothi for all men and traditional Saree for women) and relishing the Onam feast is de rigueur for the Malayali anywhere in the world. Be it in Kerala, anywhere in India, in the Arab world or the western nations, the Malayali has to don their traditional dress and sitting down on a mat on the floor, they eat from a plantain leaf, considered the most traditional way of celebrating the festival.

While the preparations for the feast start a day earlier, the food itself is cooked and laid out by afternoon in most houses in Kerala. And any guest who walks in on the day of Onam is considered as Mahabali, the Asura king who is believed to have ruled this beautiful land, and is offered a full meal in all houses. Such incidents have been recounted by old timers.

The ten-day long floral carpet or the athapookalam is another ritual that was an integral part of Onam celebrations for children and there were often competitions held by various organisations for the best floral carpets. This is another custom that has been observed in a subdued manner this time round.

Even though Kerala’s Onam celebrations have sort of transformed into a communal affair with successive governments spending huge amounts to hold various programmes for over three decades now, Onam 2020 would be the most subdued one in recent memory. Onam celebrations had also transformed into more of a tourist attraction with lots of foreigners making a beeline for God’s Own Country come August-September. The elephant pageantry and the various cultural programmes organised across the State were huge attractions for tourists both Indian and foreign. This year all such celebrations have been cancelled and few tourists were seen in the cities of Kerala.

A shocking change from the past is in the Malayalam cinema industry. COVID-19 had stopped the movie industry on its tracks and departing from tradition no Onam releases have been announced, that too during a season when cinemas of Malayali heartthrobs Mammooty and Mohanlal become huge grossers. OTT releases have been planned but crowds at the cinema halls will be missed and the huge earnings from this industry that feed thousands won’t materialise pushing many into hardship.

Like they say, changes are inevitable and all these new precautions, hygiene standards, and health protocols would hopefully pave way for a new society that is more caring and mindful of others in the community. We will hopefully enjoy a more vibrant Onam next year that harks back to the past glory of this wonderful land.

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Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Coorperation, Dewasoms and Tourism, said the tourism sector in the state has witnessed tremendous growth in the last four years. During the period, the tourism industry has grown exponentially as a result of various international and extensive campaigns, developments in existing tourist destinations and the development of new destinations. This growth has survived major crises such as the Okhi, Nipah, and the floods.

The Champions Boat League was organised to attract tourists from all over the world by connecting various boat races held in Kerala. In 2019, the Champions Boat League boat race was successfully held in 12 centers in the State.

A heritage project of Rs.10 crore is being implemented for the renovation and protection of Chala Heritage Street in Thiruvananthapuram district. The first phase was inaugurated recently. In Madavoorpara, a tourism infrastructure development project was implemented at a cost of Rs.7 crore. The Kozhikode Mithai Street Heritage Project was completed at a cost of Rs 6.5 crore and dedicated to the country.

The second phase of the Jatayupara Tourism Project, the first public-private partnership tourism project in the state, has been completed. Phase III work was now under progress.

The Responsible Tourism Mission has set up 15,518 new units in the state, directly and indirectly employing 78,000 people in the tourism sector. The Green Carpet Project has been launched to ensure the basic facilities for tourists in the tourism sector in Kerala. The Green Carpet project is being implemented in collaboration with local bodies, community organisations, NGOs and the student community.

The Pepper project was initiated under the auspices of the Responsible Tourism Mission to ensure local participation in the tourism development process. All the major tourism destinations in Kerala have started the process of making themselves differently able-friendly. In the first phase, about 100 centers became diversity-friendly.

A project of Rs.10 crore has been completed to start the first train service in Kerala which will facilitate tourists visiting Veli Tourist Village. The construction work of a project worth Rs.34 crore has been started to set up a convention centre, tourist facilitation centre, eco park and urban park on the land acquired 20 years ago for the comprehensive development of Veli Tourist Village.

To make the Thenmala eco-tourism project more attractive, a light and sound show project has been completed at a cost of Rs.5 crore and opened to the public. Projects worth Rs.60 crore have been started in prominent tourist destinations in Thiruvananthapuram district such as Kovalam, Shankhumugham, Akkulam and Varkala.

Renovation work has started with administrative approval for a project of Rs.10 crore to preserve the Kanakakunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram and to set up a digital museum for tourists. Renovated on the model of Vellar Craft Village Sargalaya. The first phase of `10 crore has been sanctioned for the construction of a convention centre and digital museum at Chempazhanthi Gurukul, the birthplace of Sree Narayana Guru, to provide tourists with a biography and vision of Sree Narayana Guru. Construction is in full swing.

Construction work on a new 56-room guest house at Guruvayur has started at a cost of Rs.24 crore. It will be completed within a year. The Minister said that the Swadeshi Darshan project worth Rs.100 crore has been completed on time with the help of the Central Government to make the Padmanabhaswamy Temple area in Thiruvananthapuram attractive.

The State Government has approved a project of Rs.50 crore for the Malabar and Malnad River Cruise Project and the construction of more than 15 boat terminals is nearing completion. The Malabar and Malnad River Cruise Project, which will cost Rs.325 crore, will increase the tourism potential of Malabar. The heritage conservation project is being implemented in the ancient trading centers of Kerala such as Alappuzha, Thalassery and Ponnani. The Minister said that steps have been taken to implement a heritage conservation project based on heritage monuments in Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Kollam districts.

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