The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment will take the initiative to link the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) at Palode with the eco-tourism network in the State, Council Executive Vice President E.P. Yesodharan said here on Tuesday.He was speaking after inaugurating ‘Udyana Sangamam,’ an outreach programme developed by TBGRI. Mr. Yesodharan said moves were on to broad base the activities of the institute and educate the public about the need for biodiversity protection.

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KTDC will set up a series of budget hotels, ‘Tamarind Easy Hotels’, across the state. Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will inaugurate the first Tamarind Easy Hotel at Thirunelli in Wayanad on September 15.

KTDC’s existing budget hotels - in Kannur, Thrissur, Mannarkad, Guruvayur, Alappuzha, Kollam, Changanassery and Peermedu - too will be re-christened as Tamarind. Besides Thirunelli, KTDC plans new Tamarind hotels at Kondotty, Kalady, Mangattuparambu, Sultan Bathery, Nilambur and Devikulam.

The branding exercise is a part of KTDC’s efforts to enhance its service across the state, KTDC chairman Cheriyan Philip said in a release here.

Kerala Tourism Awards 2005-06 Announce by the Tourism Department of Kerala

Kerala has won two awards of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for the category in cultural tourism and preparation of brochures.

In the cultural segment, the heritage village at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district was chosen for the award. The brochures that won the award were those of the state’s eco-tourism spots like Munnar, Wayanad, Thekkadi and Kumarakom.

The honour would encourage Kerala Tourism to come out with more new products and concepts, state Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said in a release here yesterday.

The South India tourist confederation, was currently working on various proposals, including launch of luxury train and sea cruises, with a view to showcasing the entire southern region as an attractive tourist destination and boost tourist arrivals.

The confederation, set up three years ago, has held a series of meeting to work out joint travel packages, whereby a tourist arriving in the southern region could have a glimpse
of the entire southern region when he arrives here and see some places of interest from each region, joint director, Andhra Pradesh tourism department, Balsubramanyam Reddy told reporters here on Monday.

Kerala Electricity Minister A.K. Balan Thursday informed the state assembly that steps have begun to promote hydel tourism in Kerala.

‘There is huge potential for promotion of tourism at the Kerala State Electricity Board’s(KSEB) various dam hydel project  because of the beautiful settings in which these dams are located. A society to promote hydel tourism has already been formed,’ said Balan.

The state’s Wayanad district is set to become the hot spot for hydel tourism as it has a large number of dams in hilly areas. Balan said that tourism would be promoted in the 28 small islands of the Banasurasagar Lake in Wayanad.

The Centre Govt. has given approval for declaring Parambikkulam in Kerala as a Tiger Reserve, apart from the existing Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR), state Govt. informed the state assembly today.

New wildlife conservation projects included a peacock park at Chulannur in Palakkad district, he said in a written reply.

Kerala has five national parks, 11 wildlife sanctuaries and two bird sanctuaries.

Newswire Press Release

Medical tourism is booming in India, with Scottish patients flocking towards Indian hospitals. The two most prominent reasons why they find India the most suitable destination for various treatments include relatively low cost, and extremely low waiting time. Highly effective treatment offered in Indian hospitals and an opportunity to enjoy an exotic vacation at popular tourist destinations of India like Delhi, Kerala, Goa, Mumbai, and Bangalore to name a few are the other significant reasons behind this.
 
 According to NHS (National Health Service), some travel groups in Scotland have started to prepare health tour packages for the patients willing to travel to India for treatment. Globe Health Tours, which has been providing amusement for stag weekends, has already dispatched 30 patients to Indian hospitals, where they’ll have to pay only a fraction of price charged by the UK clinics.
 
 NHS’ waiting list for a few procedures is still above 6-months and private clinics in the country (Scotland) charge patients nearly 10,000 pounds for treatments such as knee or hip replacements. However, those ready to go to India can have the same operations done for below 3500 pounds.

Read full story at http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/12081/

The fifth edition of the India International Boat Show (IIBS) organised by Kerala Tourism was inaugurated Friday by Minister for Tourism,Kerala.