Tourism, Transport Depts to Hold Joint Workshop for RTOs on Caravan Tourism

KOCHI:
Taking forward the comprehensive Caravan Tourism Policy announced recently by the Kerala Government, a joint workshop of Tourism and Transport Departments will be held here on Thursday to sensitize Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) on the operational details of the ambitious project.

Transport Minister Antony Raju will inaugurate the workshop at Bolgatty Palace, Kochi at 10.30 am. Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas will preside over the inaugural function, which will also be attended by KN Unnikrishnan, MLA and Hibi Eden, MP.

Biju Prabhakar, Secretary – Transport, MR Ajith Kumar, Transport Commissioner and Pramoj Kumar PS, Additional Transport Commissioner, designated as the State Nodal Officer for Caravans in the Transport Department, will be present at the Inaugural session and thereafter at the Workshop.

The Workshop will focus on the rules and regulations pertaining to the operation of tourist caravans.

After the opening session, the ministers will have a look at a couple of caravans that will be displayed at the venue.

The workshop will look into the nitty gritty of the project and the procedural protocols pertaining to the standardization of caravans and their smooth movement in any part of the state and comfortable stay of tourists at the dedicated caravan parks and other stop-over spots.

Earlier this month, Kerala announced the country’s most stakeholder-friendly Caravan Tourism Policy, promising the visitors a safe, customized and closest-to-nature travel experience.

The policy, unveiled by the Tourism Minister, has laid down the broad framework for the development and encouragement of Caravan Tourism in Kerala by incentivizing the purchase of well-equipped caravans and extending the institutional support for developing caravan parks across the state.