THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To tap the tourism potential of Malabar and provide all the information related to the region at one click, the Tourism Department has brought out a hi-tech digital facility that provides visitors with all details about the experiential and service packages offered in the region in north Kerala. Titled ‘SMiLE Virtual Tour Guide’, the digital facility will link tourists with the places of attraction and providers of experiential services. The package has got its acronym SMiLE from Small and Medium Industries Leveraging Experiential Tourism.
Conceived and executed by the Bekal Resorts Development Corporation (BRDC) that focuses on eco-friendly and experiential tourism, the SMiLE guide renders information on 40 Malabar attractions, ways to reach them, planning tours and fixing reminder alarm notification, besides means to share portal material, find accommodation and book rooms.
The site has also helpline numbers for women and ambulance services, according to the BRDC that is primarily into developing North Malabar and focusing on beach tourist destination around Kasargod district’s Bekal, known for its 1650-built fort spread over 40 acres that makes it the biggest in God’s Own Country.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the SMiLE VTG is Malabar’s pioneering comprehensive package for travellers. “The facility comes at a time when the state government is envisaging projects that give northern Kerala its deserving attention on the tourism map,” he said.
Tourism Secretary Rani George said, “The SMiLE VTG seeks to increase tourist arrivals and generate jobs in the sector. The government provided Rs 50 lakh to the 1995-established BRDC to come up with such a tour guide under its new-age means of tourism promotion.”SMiLE VTG, endowed with latest IT-enabled services, has a mobile app that offers location-based information alongside a three-minute video on visiting any tourist attraction in Malabar.
The audio-videos go by the latest trend of storytelling when it comes to providing information on the history, culture and specialties of every tourist location. Textual material coexists along with details of accommodation and related facilities rendered by SMiLE entrepreneurs. The VTG provides not just the distance and routes to the spots, but also tour plans that are supported by GPS trackers which ensure travel along easiest roads.
Guiding with a ‘SMiLE’
Titled ‘SMiLE Virtual Tour Guide’, the digital facility will link tourists with places of attraction and providers of experiential services
It gets the acronym from Small and Medium Industries Leveraging Experiential Tourism
It is conceived and being executed by the Bekal Resorts Development Corporation
the SMiLE guide renders information on 40 Malabar attractions, ways to reach them, planning tours and fixing reminder alarm notification