Kerala Tourism to attend ‘Otdykh Leisure Moscow’ and PATA Travel Mart 2009 from September 22-25

Kerala Tourism has decided to organise ‘partnership meet’ in European cities (Rome, Paris, Brussels, Stockholm) and Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark and Sweden), in order to promote tourism to the state. This information was divulged by Suresh Kumar PG, Deputy Director (Publicity & Marketing), Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala. He however, refused to disclose the dates of the meets.

Further to promote tourism in the state, Kerala Tourism will attend ‘Otdykh Leisure Moscow,’ the 15th International Trade Fair for Travel and Tourism, which will be held from September 22-25, 2009 at IEC Crocus Expo in Moscow. It will also attend the PATA Travel Mart 2009, which will be held at Hangzhou in China from September 22- 25, 2009. Sources said that Kerala Tourism has booked a stall at PATA Travel Mart.

Kerala received 1.9 lakh foreign tourist and 18 lakh domestic tourists in Quarter One of 2009, which marks 3.21 per cent increase in domestic arrivals and 18 per cent decline in foreign arrivals compared to previous year. Sources opined that when calculated together (international and domestic arrivals) it is obvious that Kerala has not been affected much by recession though the state has witnessed marked decline in foreign arrivals. The state received 5, 98,929 foreign tourists in 2008. Majority of international visitors to Kerala are from France, Germany and Sweden etc. About 75, 91,000 domestic tourists visited Kerala in 2008, which showed 14 per cent growth rate over the previous year.