Bangalore, February 14, 2018: As part of its domestic tourist outreach,   46  Kerala-based Tourism and hospitality companies interacted yesterday with local players  in one of the biggest such business to business ( B2B) exercises seen in the Silicon City.
These included  leading players like CGH Earth, KTDC Hotels and Resorts, Vythiri Resort, Abad Hotels & Resorts and Poovar Island Resort.
The event  served to  sharply contrast Kerala's attitude to domestic tourism, with that of another neighbouring tourist destination, Goa,whose  town  planning minister  was reported a few days ago to have characterised domestic (mainly upcountry) tourists as 'scum of the earth'.The state's tourism minister added his voice, saying he  would "chase tourists away" who disrespected Goa culture.
Karnataka state  sent 9.33 lakh ( 93.3 million) tourists to Kerala in the year gone by, a 20 % increase over the previous year said  Kerala Tourism deputy director  V S Anil, who was in attendance.
Responsible Tourism, which began modestly as an experiment in the backwaters of Kumarakom in 2008, has today mushroomed  to become  the motto of Kerala’s Tourism module. With a newly founded Responsible Tourism Mission and Kumarakom bagging the prestigious Responsible Tourism Award at the World Travel Mart, London, the New Tourism Policy unveiled by Kerala focuses in depth at sustainable tourism initiatives. The policy also forms a major highlight of this year’s domestic campaign, which also sees a new thrust on Adventure tourism
And with the 5th edition of Kerala Blog Express, a unique social media outreach that brings together international bloggers and influencers , Kerala is gearing up to welcome every kind of traveller. Kerala Blog Express starts on March 12.
Another major B2B event, the Kerala Travel Mart in its 10th edition,  is scheduled  for four days in Kerala, starting September 27, International Tourism Day.