KOCHI: Kerala will soon have a heli-tourism policy, said Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas in Kochi on Saturday. He was inaugurating the state government’s heli-tourism project ‘Sky Escapes’ in association with Chipsan Aviation at the Kochi airport.
Riyas said the government is considering a heli-tourism policy in the state. “Heli-tourism policy will be the first in the country. It will help popularise the concept and attract more tourists. We are planning to make the project more people-friendly. We are now exploring the potential of heli-tourism,” he said.
He said the state government will adorn the role of a facilitator in the project. According to him, the infrastructure for the project will be developed with the participation of private players. A micro website containing information about the heli-tourism service was also launched. “As part of the project, we will coordinate with helicopter operators. We expect more helicopter operators to associate with the project.
More helipads will be developed by the state government in association with private companies,” he said
He said that the advantage of heli-tourism is that tourists can explore all destinations without consuming time. “Kerala is a densely populated state with high vehicle density and tourists often hesitate to visit all tourist destinations due to traffic blocks.
However, heli-tourism will help tourists reach all destinations in a short time,” he said. Tourism secretary K Biju, Tourism director P B Nooh, District Collector N S K Umesh and KTIL chairman S K Saneesh took part in the event. The helicopter took off from Kochi airport with two couples to Munnar as part of the event.