Kerala-Motaz Othman
I asked the ticket lady on Sahara Air to give me a seat by the window on my trip from Mombai to Kerala because I wanted to enjoy one of the most beautiful nature scenes in the world; the backwaters of Kerala from the air. It is a network of waterways where the sea penetrates the land, surrounded by palm trees and coconut trees for which Kerala is famous. It is a prime tourist destination and one of the world’s most important tourist attractions.
Kerala depends on its tourist industry. It organized its tourism exhibition at the end of last September. Around (800 journalists), including Islamic Tourism magazine, were invited to attend this important event. The exhibition was held at the Meridian hotel. Most of the participants were from the hotels and resorts of Kerala and travel agents as well as airlines. There was perfect cooperation between the private and public sectors which made the exhibition a success.
Islamic Tourism took part and copies of the magazine were distributed to the participants. They were familiar with the magazine, which has often featured the attractions of Kerala, welcomed us and showed a great interest in our publication.
Mr. Najeeb told us that the presence of a large number of travel agents and other sectors of tourism in Kerala make this exhibition a real opportunity for meetings between buyers and sellers from all over the world. He added that Kerala is looking further afield to tourists from Europe and the Arab world. He also thanked Islamic Tourism for attending and asked about the possibility of making the magazine a sponsor of the exhibition.
We also met the new director of tourism in Kerala, Mr. Sooraj, who expressed his satisfaction at the presence of so many buyers and sellers and the hospitality offered to them by the people of Kerala. He praised the magazine for its reports about Kerala and expressed his intention of expanding co-operation with the magazine and its website. He emphasized the strong relationship of Kerala with the Arab and Islamic world. |