THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shankhumukham Beach, the popular hangout in the state capital, is all set to reclaim its lost glory by rebranding and relaunching it as a nightlife destination. Ravaged by erosion and violent waves in recent years, the beach area frequented by visitors and tourists all round the year is undergoing drastic transformation, with nightlife features being put in place.
Several attractions have recently been added to entertain the visitors. While the destination wedding area has undergone expansion, a horror house, amusement area for children, sea-view cafe, fish spa, and toilet facilities were opened at the beach to woo more visitors this vacation season. And attractive illuminations have livened up the tourist spot.
A top official with the tourism department said that efforts are afoot to introduce nightlife at the beach.
“The food street is getting ready. It’s almost in the finishing stages. Once it is opened, nightlife will be introduced at the destination,” the official said. With the work on the food street expected to be completed in a few weeks, all traders will be relocated to the new zone so that visitors get more area to enjoy the beach and engage in other activities, he said.
The tourism department is planning to extend the hours of operations at the destination and introduce more security measures. “Already, people in large numbers are arriving until late in the night and there will be more security. For quality assurance, training and awareness will be given to the vendors and traders to ensure food quality. A foolproof waste management system will be introduced at the destination as part of the nightlife project,” the official said.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to relocate the fishing boats parked at the beach. “We will be holding talks with the church authorities to relocate the parked boats at the beach to boost tourism activities,” said an official with the District Tourism
Promotion Council. Many of the lights installed at the beach are lying defunct, which will be fixed immediately, the official said.
The state government’s plans to introduce nightlife projects at Manaveeyam Veedhi and Kanakakunnu Palace did not take off as expected. As things stand, Shankhumukham is in line to be the first tourism destination with nightlife in the state.
