THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Come the New Year, tourists will be able to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the scenic locations in Kerala. In a major boost to the industry, Kerala Tourism is all set to launch helicopter/heli-tourism by the end of this month.
An official source said Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas will launch the project by flagging off the first helicopter from the Kochi international airport on Saturday.
Aimed at promoting premium tourism in the state, the project is being implemented with private participation.
Kochi will be the main hub of heli-tourism. In the initial phase, the project will cover 10 major destinations, including Munnar, Kumarakom, Bekal, Alappuzha, Jatayu Earth Centre and Thiruvananthapuram. Heli-rides, destination-to-destination rides and heli-tourism packages will be on offer.
Besides tourism, the department aims to use the choppers for disaster management, patient transportation and other emergencies.
Project to cover more destinations in future
According to sources, many have evinced interest in investing in the heli-tourism project, which is being launched as part of Kerala Tourism 2.0 -- a major announcement in the budget.
“Many stakeholders from Kerala and other states are ready to invest in the project. Many participants in the Tourism Investors Meet 2023 held recently in Thiruvananthapuram too had expressed interest, and hence, we decided to launch it immediately,” said an official.
As per the current plan, brief heli-rides will cost around Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 (hourly/half-hourly rides) per head, while rides to a specific destination will cost around Rs 1 lakh (depending on the destination, head-count, luxury and other services provided by the operators). The cost of various tourism packages will range from Rs 2.5 lakh- Rs 10 lakh.
To facilitate the implementation of the project, Kerala Tourism will launch a micro-site on the official website of the department to introduce and promote heli-tourism.
“This is yet another product that is going to revolutionise the state tourism industry. Increasing road traffic is an issue hampering tourism activities in the state. Presently, tourists visiting Kerala spend a majority of their time travelling to reach destinations scattered across the state,” said the official.
According to officials, there are unused helipads and operational helipads in many parts of Kerala.
“We have identified around 50 helipads scattered across the state. Once launched, the stakeholders are also likely to set up helipads and if required, the tourism department will develop helipads under the PPP model,” said an official.
The official said the project will cover more destinations in future.
“Besides tourism, these helicopters can be used for medical purposes for patient transportation. During disasters, we had to depend on the Army’s choppers for relief activities. These helicopters will come in handy during such emergencies. This is going to be a major asset for the state,” the official added.