THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Spaniards had a brush with the grandeur of God’s Own Country as Kerala showcased its various facets of life and culture at the just-concluded FITUR 2019 in Madrid , world’s second largest tourism and travel fair with visitors and trade professionals exhibiting tremendous interest in Brand Kerala.
Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran inaugurated the India Pavilion along with the Indian ambassador to Spain, Sanjay Verma. Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Suman Billa, union joint Secretary and Rani George, secretary, Kerala Tourism.
The pavilion of Kerala Tourism, built on the themes of ‘Houseboats’, ‘Backwaters’ and ‘Mohini-yattam performance’, whi-pped up huge excitement at the five-day travel meet, which concluded recently.
The tourism minister and secretary held a series of meetings with key trade and media representatives at the event to further boost tourism potential of the state. The Kerala stall showcased a range of the state’s natural beauty -- serene beaches, emerald backwaters, coconut palms – as also houseboats. There was also a live Mohiniy-attam performance at the pavilion, catching the eyeballs of visitors and business-seeking professionals alike.
The Kerala delegation included three trade partners from the private sector – CGH Group of Hotels, Pioneer Travels and Xandari.
FITUR show, a meeting point of tourism professionals the world over, is considered as the second biggest gathering of travel and tourism professionals. The fair has grown 8.3 percent and this year’s edition was its biggest ever with the participation of 886 stand-holder exhibitors and 10,487 companies from 165 countries and regions.
This was for the fifteenth year on the trot that Kerala Tourism participated in FITUR, which provides a platform for the global tourist industry to promote commercial agreements and hammer out actionable strategies for growth of tourism.
