Kerala found a prominent space at the India Pavilion during a travel fair at the Dubai World Trade Center, where the state's tourism department showcased features such as monsoon, Ayurveda and greenery to attract Arab travellers.
The Arabian Travel Market, which was inaugurated yesterday, is a leading travel fair held annually in Dubai, and it provides a great opportunity to network with tourism trade in the Middle East.
Ambassador of India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), T P Seetharam, inaugurated the 310 square metre India Pavilion at the fair, in which Kerala Tourism finds a prominent space, an official release said here today.
A delegation, led by Kerala Tourism Director P I Sheik Pareeth and Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Ali Asgar Pasha, represented the state in four-day fair.
"Considering tourist arrivals to Kerala from the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the main market followed by the UAE, Oman and Kuwait," said Kerala Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar.
"In 2014, there were 48,346 tourists from Saudi Arabia, 17,475 from the UAE and 17,239 from Oman, who visited the state. From the Middle East alone, we have more than one lakh visitors," he added.
"The Middle East is like a second home to many Malayalees and there is a great opportunity to network with tourism trade here," said Kerala Tourism Secretary G Kamala Vardhana Rao.
Sheik informed that the trade networking department is planning to conduct a massive destination promotional campaign targeting the promising Middle East market and Arab travellers.
The ATM will also serve as a venue for the 'Visit Kerala campaign' in the Middle East, based on monsoon, Ayurveda and greenery.
