Kerala’s first-ever Tourism Investors Meet (TIM) has bolstered the government’s travel and hospitality initiatives in the post-pandemic era, with the State receiving investment offers worth ₹15,116.65 crore in the core sector.
This included a memorandum of understanding that Kerala Tourism signed with Tamara Leisure Experiences on a ₹250-crore houseboat hotel projects which the Bengaluru-based hospitality group will execute in the Alappuzha and Kannur districts.
The day-long deliberations also led the tourism department to set up a dedicated facilitation centre. To be headed by the Tourism Secretary, this body will carry out time-bound actions as a follow-up to the outcomes of the deliberations and business meets at the TIM.
Further, there will be a coordination committee, led by the Tourism Director, with the association of the secretaries of various departments. The committee will have the power to intervene if any of the projects face issues, Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas said.
The committee will hold regular ministerial meetings to keep track of the progress of the tourism investment endeavours, he added.
TIM 2023 saw the participation of nearly 500 investors and entrepreneurs. These included 46 startups and 118 investors from the Responsible Tourism sector. A total of 75 projects were presented, of which 52 were from the private sector. They contributed to the investment offers.
Besides 23 projects proposed by the Tourism Department, 16 projects were mooted as public-private partnerships. Together, the 39 projects contributed to investment offers worth ₹2,511.10 crore. Also, besides the 52 proposals in the private sector, 21 projects worth ₹12,605.55 crore won investment offers.
