By IANS,
Chandigarh : Kerala is exploring the markets of Punjab and Chandigarh to woo tourists to ‘God’s Own Country’.
“Chandigarh and Punjab are unexplored markets. This is one of the most potential region where many rich people reside who really love to spend money and to travel places. To capitalise on this fact, we are significantly focusing on this area,” Kerala tourism department deputy director Suresh Kumar told IANS.
“We already have an established market base in big cities like Mumbai, Pune and Delhi, so now we can easily divert our attention towards Punjab and Chandigarh. Our idea is to offer tourists best tour plans at economical rates.”
Kumar, along with 32 travel agents from Kerala, came to this city to promote tourism prospects of Kerala and to establish links with local travel agents here.
As per official records, 5.98 lakh foreign tourists and 76.91 lakh domestic tourists visited Kerala in 2009.
Kumar said they are expecting 15 percent increase in both domestic and foreign tourists this year.
“Tourism business is booming in Kerala. This tour is very important for us as a huge chunk of tourists are coming from Chandigarh, Punjab and other north Indian states,” A.V.R. Srinivasan, general manager of Siena Village, a resort in Munnar, Kerala, told IANS.