Heritage walks, online discussions, and other events were organised in the district on Monday to celebrate World Tourism Day and to revive the sector from the almost two-year lull brought about by the pandemic, even as the hartal played spoilsport with travel plans of tourists who arrived here from other districts and States.
Speaking at a kayaking and stand-up paddling event organised by the Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council at Aluva, District Collector Jafar Malik said a blueprint would be readied for an ecotourism circuit in the Periyar and on its banks. Caravan park, tents, cycle and jogging tracks, angling, eco-friendly adventure sports and infrastructure for pilgrim tourism will be readied.
The Collector also visited Parunthuranchi island and Harithavanam nearby. Volunteers cleared a total of 16 sacks full of garbage. Plastic waste was segregated and sent for recycling. Anwar Sadath, MLA, too was present.
The Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society (Kerala HATS) organised a heritage walk in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry to highlight the need to form a Kochi Heritage Tourism Development Authority. The NGO submitted a memorandum to the Collector demanding steps to conserve heritage structures in the area.
Kerala HATS director M.P. Sivadathan said officials of the agencies that ought to conserve heritage and ensure cleanliness of such locales were either inefficient or not interested in executing their duty. Lack of coordination was another issue, he said. The Collector must take steps to remove encroachers, renovate and conserve the 300-year-old Odatha located near Veli Ground, the Dutch Cemetery, the cemetery of Malabar Jews, the weed-infested Parade Ground and the over 140-year-old Hari Shenoy Bungalow, among other heritage structures, he added.
