The Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala recently concluded its 2010 UK road show which was held in four cities- London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. The road show provided 22 trade partners from Kerala a platform to motivate and educate 270 wholesale industry partners, retail travel trade and independent travel counselors from the four cities. While the feedback from British wholesalers indicated that despite the current economic climate a strong level of consumer interest and enquiries for long-haul destinations, including Kerala was still there.

The trade partners who participated in the road shows included Abad Group Of Hotels, CGH Earth, Fragrant Nature Retreat & Resort, Indian Tour Planners, Intersight Tours & Travels, Jayasree Travels, Kairali Ayurvedic Resort, Kumarakom Lake Resort, Marvel Tours, MIR Tours, Pioneer Personalized Holidays, Poomulli Aramthampuran''s Ayurveda Mana, Ramada Resort, SITA World Travels, Somatheeram Ayurveda Resort, Spiceland Holidays, The Great India Tour Company, Thomas Hotels & Resorts, The Travancore Heritage, Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel, Vythiri Resort, Kalypso Adventures and Jet Airways

M Sivasankar, Director of Tourism, Government of Kerala, who headed the delegation, said that the road shows were organised to sustain and boost the growing interest among British tourists. He added that appointments and functions during the road shows will facilitate networking with industry decision makers and allow participants to solidify their relationships with key distribution partners. “Faced with price wars on mass-market package-tour many tour operators in the UK outbound market have been refocusing their strategies on niche sectors. There is a growing trend where tour operators are moving steadily away from the congested short-haul market towards long-haul destinations and specialist holidays, such wellness, which is an excellent window for Kerala,” added Sivasankar.

Shilendran, Vice President Sales, CGH Earth, said, “Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester are major cities in their own right, but we don’t normally get the opportunity to interact with agents from these cities as the major travel forums are usually held in London. So this new direction to open up secondary cities to the Kerala trade is useful.” Riyaz Ahmed, MD, Abad Group Hotels who is also the President of the Kerala Travel Mart Society said that the UK trade were also invited to be part of the next Kerala Tourism Mart which will take place later this year, to get a first hand experience of the destination and its products.

To further highlight Kerala in the cities where the road shows took place, Kerala Tourism used 120 UK cabs with posters of Kerala, including the famous backwaters, houseboats, wildlife and art forms. Also for the first time in the UK, a consumer event was held in London targeting commuters at Victoria Station, the second busiest railway terminus in London. Information kits, spices, brochures, t-shirts were distributed and a ‘Go Kerala’ contest was also held with the winner getting free Kerala holiday packages. Jet Airways who partnered with Kerala Tourism in this event sponsored the free air tickets. The United Kingdom is Kerala’s key source market. Arrival figures from the UK have been showing a steady growth, with 141,147 tourists visiting in 2008.