THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the reopening of tourist destinations on Monday, the state government is set to inaugurate 22 tourism projects on October 22, which are expected to give an impetus to the crisis-ridden sector. Tourism Director P Balakiran told TNIE the tourism department has listed as many as 120 projects for inauguration in the coming months.
“Of these, 65 projects would be inaugurated as part of the state government’s 100-day action plan as part of boosting the socio-economic activity of the state. The remaining 55 projects would be inaugurated in the second phase of the next 100 days. As part of the first phase deadline, 22 projects worth around `65 crore are ready for inauguration in various districts,” he said.
Further, two mega projects of the tourism department would be inaugurated by the chief minister by this month end. The miniature railway project of Kerala Tourism at Veli Tourist Village here, a fun-filled experience, has been completed which will be opened for tourists on this occasion. The tourists would be able to travel in the idyllic village and the beach side on a solar-powered miniature train. The other is the Kerala Arts and Crafts Village which is undergoing makeover at Vellar in Thiruvananthapuram.
As many as 114 tourist destinations in the state started welcoming visitors on Monday after the government decided to reopen the sector to ensure livelihood of various stakeholders dependent on the tourism sector. The destinations in the containment zones were not opened as part of the Covid control measures. But these destinations would be reopened once the areas are excluded from the list of containment zones. The tourism department is expecting that the footfall will increase in the hill, adventure and backwater tourism destinations on weekends.