Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar has said that the coming Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) will be a turning point in terms of the volume of business targeted and the way the shopping festival showcases the State’s tourism potential before the world.
Addressing a function held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Department of Tourism and South Indian Bank (SIB) for title sponsorship by the latter for the sixth season of the GKSF, Mr. Anil Kumar noted that the overall goal of the GKSF was to turn Kerala into the country’s shopping and tourism hub.
South Indian Bank Executive Director Abraham Thariyan received the MoU from the Minister. This is the second year that the bank is sponsoring the title of the festival. Season 6 of GKSF will start on December 15 and conclude on January 31, 2013.
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Welcoming the gathering, GKSF Director U.V. Jose said that the shopping festival would have several new features this year. These included setting up of a 15-day trade fair titled ‘Global Village’ in Kochi during December-January, greater focus on Kerala handicrafts and indigenous products, 100 per cent VAT refund for shoppers from outside the State and 101 kg of gold and other high-value items as prizes, besides a series of thematic exhibitions. New facilities for merchant establishments this time include options for online registration through Akshaya centres, with attractive early-bird discounts, he said. State co-coordinator, GKSF, V. Vijayan, proposed a vote of thanks.