Union Minister of State for Tourism and Information Technology Alphons Kannanthanam has called for joint efforts by the Centre and the State government to promote tourism in Kerala.
Participating in a meet-the-press programme here, Mr. Kannanthanam said ‘minor deficiencies’ were holding back foreign tourists from visiting the State.
Crimes in the State, which were reported in an out of proportion manner, and the issue of cleanliness were the key issues that desisted the tourists from visiting the State.
“If the Centre, State, and local self-governments joined hands in correcting these issues, it will make a sea change in the tourism profile of the State,” he said.
“There are thousands of acres of government land in Wagamon. The governments can come up with a comprehensive programme for construction of resorts by assigning or leasing out land to private players in this area,” Mr. Kannanthanam said.
He also called for changing the tourism profile of Munnar by providing enhanced infrastructure so that tourists could stay for an extended period at the hill station.
In the area of information technology (IT) Kerala had made pioneering efforts as early as 1980. However, after the initial spurt the State had slipped.
“At present, the majority of those in the IT sector were doing the job of çoolies. Instead, we have to change the profile of the sector by entering in a big way into IT product development,” Mr. Kannanthanam said.
“It was high time that we entered areas such as artificial intelligence, big data analysis, digital payments etc.,” he said.
The Minister also wanted the nation to emerge as a major manufacturing hub for electronic goods. “During the past three years our production has increased five to eight times. But we have to aim for a much higher quantum,” he added.
The other two issues that topped his agenda were the Sabari Rail and the Erumeli airport projects. “The land identified for the proposed greenfield airport was entangled in a case. We have to close the case at the earliest,” he added.
“If it was government land, government can go ahead with its own project. Otherwise, we can involve private players too,” he said.
Reacting to a question, Mr. Kannanthanam said nobody could question the role of the Indian government in the release of Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil from the hands of Yemeni extremists.
“Everything related to the release will never be published as it will affect diplomatic relations. But the Vatican, Oman, and Saudi Arabia played crucial roles,” he said.
To another question he said he was not capable enough to build a bridge between the BJP and the Christian denominations. “All I can do is to play my part along with others in realizing it,” he said.
He also said he would try to make his contribution in sorting out the issues concerning the agriculture sector in the State.
