The seventh edition of Splash-2015, an annual monsoon carnival, organised by the Wayanad Tourism Organisation in association with the State Tourism Department and the district administration to showcase the tourism potential of the hill district, concluded at Vythiri on Saturday.
Speaking after inaugurating a business meet held in connection with the carnival, Tourism Minister A.P. Anilkumar said the carnival had been playing a significant role in the tourism sector and it could make core changes in the tourism prospect of the district since its inception in 2008. A responsible and sustainable tourism development was the policy of the government and its benefit should reach up to the grassroots level, the Minister said.
“Wayanad is emerging as a major eco-friendly tourism destination in the State,” Mr. Anilkumar said, adding that as many as 9.3 lakh foreign tourists and 1.1 crore domestic tourists visited the State last year, in which 10,000 foreign tourists and 62,000 domestic tourists visited the district.
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The ‘Visit Kerala-2015’ project of the Tourism Department would help attract more tourists, the Minister added. As many as 360 tour operators across the country took part in the business meet and 102 stakeholders from the Malabar region and districts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu put up stalls at the venue to showcase their properties.
Various sports events were also held in connection with the two-day programme.