Kerala will soon roll out various plantation-based tourism projects with the government deciding to revive the ailing plantation sector by utilising its tourism potential.
A seminar attended by various stakeholders of tourism and plantation sectors at Kozhikode decided to frame a policy in this regard for government’s approval. “The plantation sector in the state has huge potential for tourism. It offers a lot of opportunities which are yet to be tapped,” said a senior tourism department official.
The seminar, which was attended by Industries Minister P Rajeev, discussed various innovative and practical possibilities that could revive tourism in the plantation sector. “The main focus is to promote responsible tourism projects in the plantation sector. Various project proposals worth Rs 160 lakh for the plantation sector have been included in this year’s plan and submitted to the government for approval,” Minister P Rajeev said at the seminar. “The department has been instructed to take timely steps to implement these projects. The government has an approach to promote the plantation sector within the current possibilities and limitations,” he added.
According to experts, the ailing plantation sector in Kerala has to look for other means to survive and tourism is one of the survival strategies.
Tharian Kadavil, an expert in his book titled “Tourism as a Survival Strategy for Kerala’s Plantation Sector: A Tantalising Agenda in the Era of Globalisation?” said “one of the survival strategies evolved by the planting community has been eco-tourism in the plantations for reaping maximum returns in the short-run. However, tourism as a survival strategy for Kerala’s plantation sector has serious limitations from a long-term perspective.”
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