/>

State forays into caravan tourism

New policy offers attractive investment subsidy to caravan operators

Published - September 15, 2021 07:33 pm IST

Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas unveiling the logo of caravan tourism at a function in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas unveiling the logo of caravan tourism at a function in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

The Kerala government has announced a caravan tourism policy, promising safe, customised, and close-to-nature travel experience for visitors in tune with the preferences of tourists in the post-pandemic period.

Unveiling the policy which offers attractive investment subsidy to caravan operators, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas said here on Wednesday that the initiative marked a paradigm shift in almost three decades after Kerala made it big with houseboat tourism.

“Like other successful tourism products of Kerala launched since the 1990s, caravan tourism will also be developed on PPP mode with private investors, tour operators and local communities as key stakeholders,” he said.

In a few months

“The policy envisages the development of caravan tourism in Kerala, predominantly in the private sector through incentivising the purchase of caravans and for establishing caravan parks,” the Minister added. He also unveiled the logo of Caravan Tourism. The project will be rolled out in a few months.

“Caravan tourism imparts an added thrust to the State’s approach of leveraging its tourism potential by improving access to unexplored locations,” said Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism V. Venu.

The two major components of this activity are tourism caravans and caravan parks. While the first involves specially built vehicles for travel, leisure, and stay, the parks are designated places to park the vehicles and enable the visitors to spend a night or a day or station for an extended period to explore the destination.

Facilities in caravans

The caravans will have all facilities for a comfortable stay such as sofa-cum-bed, kitchenette with fridge and microwave oven, dining table, toilet cubicle, partition behind the driver, air-conditioner, internet connectivity, audio-video facilities, charging system and GPS. The policy also features IT-enabled real-time monitoring of caravans to ensure security of the guests.

Caravan tourism will also promote Responsible Tourism activities for the benefit of the local communities while promoting eco-friendly practices and market for local products.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.