Kerala Tourism : Creating an Environment of Opportunities

In 1980s, Kerala was faced with the need to find a solution to the growing unemployment, amidst industrial stagnation and drift. At that point, the options were very limited. One thing that Kerala had in abundance was naturally scenic locations that could be turned into tourist attractions. The government identified tourism as a thrust area and developed an initial plan for comprehensive development. This identification and plan triggered off a quiet revolution that is today Kerala’s most significant economic activity and employer. Kerala Tourism’s marketing strategy has been carried out in a phased manner over the years.

Identifying opportunities
The first important thing for Kerala Tourism was opportunity identification and positioning of the destination. This was the first marketing strategy adopted by Kerala Tourism. In the 1980’s, there were just a couple of competent hotels each in Cochin (now Kochi), Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram), whereas places like Munnar, Kumarakom, Wayanad were undiscovered. Also, there were not many tour companies, professionals were unavailable, connectivity was poor and roads were in bad shape.