Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Tourism’s pavilion, ‘Slow Down in God’s Own Country’, generated several enquiries at Vakantiebeurs 2017, which was held in the city of Utrecht from January 10-15 and drew up to 1,08,000 visitors. The pavilion marked Kerala’s first appearance at the annual trade fair considered a gateway to the highly promising Dutch and European markets.
The Netherlands is the 11th biggest originating market for Kerala tourism with 22,276 arrivals in 2015. “South India is yet to get much attention in the Dutch market and Vakantiebeurs could help us close the gap,” said tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran.“The Dutch are big-time travellers and are keen to gather information on new destinations,” tourism principal secretary Dr V. Venu.
