A string of festival packages by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), offering memorable holidays in various unexplored destinations in the south Indian state of Kerala, is attracting a large number of visitors.
The packages are mainly targeting holidayers from various Indian states as it is a festival season in India.
The 'Navaratri' celebrations, a traditional festival dedicated to Goddess Durga, is going on and 'Deepavali', another important Indian festival, is due next month.
As holidays have been declared for schools and offices, a surge in tourist arrival is expected, sources said.
Various festival packages are different in terms of the number of days and the destinations covered. Accomodation,food and travel of the visitors will be covered under these
special travel packs, KTDC chairman Cherian Philip said.
'Discover Kerala' package covers various places including historical sites, pilgrim centres and wildlife sancturies in state capital Thiruvananthapuram as well as in other cities of the state like Kollam, Alappuzha, Peerumedu, Thekkady, Kaladi, Athirapalli, Guruvayur, Thrissur, Malampuzha, Silent Valley, Kondotti, Nilambur, Tirunelli and Prassinikadavu.
The 8-12 days long 'Sundara Keralam' package will explore unexplored destinations from Kanyakumari in the southern tip of India to Bekal, where the historical Bekal fort is located in Kasargod in northern Kerala.
While,'Utharayanam' package provides a five-day leisure journey through the places between Kochi and Kannur, 'Dakshinayanam' offers a trip to south Kerala exactly between Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, soruces said.
Though the state tourism sector underwent some crisis during the time of global financial crunch, it has recovered from it fast. The enlisting of Kerala's panoramic backwaters,
green-rich homestays and house boats in various global travel magazines have given a novel boost to the entire sector.
To woo more global tourists, KTDC has launched a hi-tech tourism campaign also, sources said.