Kerala is all set to take tourism to a different level in India with a pioneering venture in eco-tourism in the state. Spread over 2,000 hectares of land in the heart of Kerala, this project has been designed to exploit all that Kerala has to offer and yet retain the natural environment of the state, according to Uttam Dave, CEO, Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF), who are the consultants to this mega project. “With the finalisation of its latest tourism venture, Kerala will definitely have something different to offer tourists, both domestic and international. Hopefully this will enhance the image of the entire country and prove beneficial to Indian tourism as a whole,” asserts Prof K V Thomas, the Kerala tourism minister.
Disclosing the details of this project to Express Travel & Tourism on the first day of the Golden Jubilee TAAI convention in Mumbai, Uttam Dave stressed that this project has a very serious backing of the Kerala government and is expected to be completed by 2003. Bidding has already opened for the various options available in this project and the state is looking at garnering substantial foreign investment with very active participation from overseas investors, especially NRIs.
Domestic private investment will also be actively solicited, either solely or through JVs with the state. Plans are in the process of being firmed up and a final blueprint of the entire project will be ready and commence implementation by December 2001, reveals Dave.
Published in expresshotelierandcaterer.com
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