As part of its attempts to convert the CIAL Golf and Country Club (CGCC) into an international golfing destination, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will be holding a meeting of tour operators and hoteliers here next week.
“The airport company is looking at the possibility of promoting the CGCC by establishing working partnerships with tour operators and other key stake holders in the tourism sector,” said a senior company official. The business proposal is to highlight the golf course by including it in the tour packages offered by them.
CIAL held a meeting with leading international airline companies operating to Kochi about ten days ago and discussed the possibilities of introducing promotional fares and running road shows in the overseas markets to draw more golf enthusiasts here.
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“The carriers have already agreed to promote the CGCC through their respective in-flight magazines and we are also proposing to take up promotional activities that will help us reach out to the Middle-East and Far East countries in the long-term,” the official said.
According to officials, CGCC holds tremendous potential to develop golf tourism in the state as it charges a comparatively lesser fee of Rs. 2,600 for a day's play. “The competitiveness in price and quality is drawing foreigners even now, especially on holidays,” they say.
With the initiative, CIAL also seeks to act as a nodal agency between the tourists and the industry stake holders and calculates a surge in passenger traffic and the associated income for the airport.
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Commissioned in May 2010, the CGCC is spread over an area of 132 acres with nine holes.