THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The efforts of the tourism department to revitalise caravan tourism — one of its much-touted projects — with the aid of Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) are gaining pace. It is learned that the expression of interest (EoI) floated by KSUM to design and develop caravan parks and an exclusive mobile application for caravan tourism has received an overwhelming response from startups.
According to official sources, 20 startups have expressed their interest in designing and developing caravan parks and around 25 have shown interest in developing the mobile application.
Kerala Tourism plans to set up at least 10 caravan parks in the state to revive the ailing caravan tourism. Launched in 2021, Keravan Kerala (caravan tourism) failed to make any traction in the tourism industry owing to a lack of caravan parks. There are only two operational caravan parks - at Vagamon and Malampuzha - and around 13 caravans in the state.
Cheif executive officer of KSUM Anoop P Ambika told TNIE that the selection process would be completed within a month and they were hoping to deploy the new mobile application by the beginning of next year. “The prime objective is to introduce effective participation of startups in tourism development. We are hoping to introduce different tourism experiences for visitors with the help of startups,” said Ambika.
He said there was a lack of parks and planned caravan trails. “We are planning to crowd-source the hidden attractions through the mobile application which would be a one-stop solution. Visitors will be able to book the caravans and the application will give guidance to the visitors. Through the application, we will identify not-so-popular attractions known only by the local community through crowd-sourcing. Such spots will be validated and we will create the trails through the application,” he added.
The mobile application will offer all the details of the existing parks, the availability of caravans, drivers and attractions in and around the park. “Those availing the caravan service will be able to camp at the park and move around and explore the hidden spots part of the trail,” an official said.
The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) is planning three caravan parks in Ponmudi, Bolgatty and Bekal.