Kerala Tourism has decided to form a new tourism circuit with Sri Lanka to tap tourists arriving in the island nation for an extended holiday here.

The decision is on the basis of the discussions Minister for Tourism A.P. Anil Kumar, who is leading an official delegation to Sri Lanka on a two-day visit to work out the roadmap for ‘triangle” tourism circuit and maiden roadshow, had with Sri Lankan Minister of Tourism and Sports Navin Dissanayake in Colombo on Friday.

Mr. Anil Kumar said that Mr. Dissanayake had expressed Sri Lanka’s interest in joining hands with Kerala Tourism for developing tourism circuits and joint promotions to popularise the destinations.

“We are looking forward to developing circuits that link tourism destinations in Kerala and Sri Lanka, with the support from the Central government,” the Minister added.

Cruise service

Sri Lanka is keen on starting a cruise service between Kochi and Colombo.
A seaplane operator has expressed interest to partner with the corporates in Kerala to start seaplane services.
The Sri Lankan Minister has agreed to take up the demand to introduce special fares on Sri Lankan Airlines that operates from Colombo to the airports in State in connection with Visit Kerala Year 2015.

Another area identified for cooperation with Kerala Tourism is Human Resource development and skill training in the tourism sector.

Tourism Secretary G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, Director P.I. Sheikh Pareeth, and Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Ali Asghar Pasha are in the delegation.

A high-level delegation from Sri Lankan Tourism will visit Kerala soon for further deliberations in the identified tourism destination areas and finalise steps for cooperation, the Tourism Secretary said.

Regional circuit

A regional circuit with the Maldives will also be formed soon. Joint promotional activities will be conducted by Kerala and Sri Lanka to woo travellers from big source markets like China, Germany, and Russia.

“Tourist cruises linking Colombo and Kochi will be explored for this purpose,” Mr. Pareeth said.

Mr. Anil Kumar called on Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Y.K. Sinha, who offered support for Kerala Tourism’s promotional activities.

The Hindu