Kerala’s Caravan Tourism policy, which has rolled out the new Keravan Kerala initiative, is unique due to its responsible, committed approach to local communities.
Natural settings, safe locations and hygiene as top priorities. These are the features that are being held aloft as Kerala ushers in a brand-new mode in its already celebrated tourism terrain.
With the state having brought into the tourism menu a highly-anticipated brand called Keravan Kerala, visitors to the state are a thrilling lot. Notwithstanding the slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism segment in the state has begun seeing an uptrend.
The caravan tourism initiative that has been branded Keravan Kerala is up and running with Bharat Benz and other prominent automotive majors lining up their custom-made commercial vehicles for tourism.
Keravan Kerala caravan parks to ensure tourists’ safety, hygiene
Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas has added charm to Caravan tourism saying that caravan parks coming up across the state as part of ‘Keravan Kerala‘ project will be located in natural settings, giving top priority to tourists’ safety and security and hygienic features.
What makes Kerala’s Caravan Tourism policy different from others is that it is more responsible and more committed to local communities. The policy has laid the greatest emphasis on the safety and security of tourists and sustainable use of local resources in creating caravan parks, he said.
In a bid to take the new brand to better heights, the government has made sure that the Caravan Tourism policy is extremely stakeholder-friendly. This also has up opened the possibility of turning accessible but unexplored places in the state into alluring destinations for caravan travellers to park and stay.
Kerala Tourism making tourism sustainable
A Kerala Tourism source said that the new initiative has been designed in a bid to make tourism a sustainable activity that would bring benefits to local communities and also scale up opportunities for the industry.
The ministry is making sure that the caravan parks will be the most secure places that would not upset the natural and cultural settings of the locale. That would also mean that the caravan parks will have literally no constructions so that the natural locales are untouched. Further, every caravan park will have a sewage treatment plant. The basic theme of the project is to marry the luxury of caravans with the natural look of the park.
The tourism caravans come with all the facilities for a comfortable stay and include amenities such as sofa-cum-beds, kitchenette with fridge and microwave oven, dining table, toilet cubicle, partition behind the driver, air-conditioner, internet connectivity, audio-video facilities, charging system and GPS.
Responsible Tourism comes into play
Village life experience would be prime when it comes to the new initiative. Caravans can travel with tourists to interior villages where they can be part of various village activities, including visits to paddy fields, fishermen hamlets and traditional craft zones.
This is where Kerala’s much spoken about and awarded features of the Responsible Tourism (RT) initiative comes into play. RT has gauged the brand’s potential in employment generation ad and commercial opportunities for local communities, local self-government institutions, small and micro enterprises, artists and collective endeavours of women like Kudumbashree.
These apart, the Keravan Kerala project has also begun luring investors who would want to purchase caravan vehicles with attractive incentives, including subsidies.