Fort Kochi to be Made Kerala’s Foremost Tourism Destination: Minister

KOCHI:
The Kerala government will work on a project that promotes Fort Kochi as the state’s foremost tourist destination, Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said today.

Authorities will convene a special meeting on this matter and take the plan forward once the current wave of Covid-19 subsides, he told newspersons after visiting Fort Kochi’s South Beach that suffered sea erosion recently.

Vaccination for Kerala Tourism employees, including guides, will soon be completed.

As for the restoring the South Beach here, a renovation project will be drafted after holding discussions with pertinent departments, Riyas said.

The developments on recent tourism projects such as a toilet complex and floating Koothambalam were also discussed by the Minister.

Earlier in the day, the Minister chaired a meeting that took an overview of road construction in the hilly regions of Ernakulam district, and said the place had several centres which can boost tourism.

Authorities are taking measures to rejuvenate the district’s tourist destinations even as the sector has been badly hit by the pandemic, Shri Riyas said after the meeting at the Guest House in Pattimattom, 35 km northeast of Fort Kochi. Problems faced by the Kadabrayar Boating Centre and Eco Village at nearby Kizhakkambalam will be solved at the earliest, he added.

Ernakulam district has immense tourism potential as it also houses the Kochi international airport in Nedumbassery. The district has several destinations which foreign tourists can visit once the pandemic is over, the Minister said.

Authorities are currently busy improving the connectivity between these tourist destinations to woo domestic travellers, he added.