India: Kerala to Become Global Pilgrim Tourism Centre

KOCHI (NNN-Bernama): South Indian state Kerala, with its large number of temples, churches, mosques and several other places of worship, will soon become global pilgrim tourism centre, according Press Trust of India (PTI).

The Kerala Government has decided to launch a pilgrim tour called "Darshan Yatra" across the state to promote pilgrim tourism and thus to woo more tourists to the state.

The State Tourism Department has drawn up a special package for the 'Darshan Yatra' as per which tourists can choose the pilgrim destinations of their choice.

Under the plan, Kerala has been divided into three zones according to the presence of major pilgrim centres. The 'yatra' will be arranged in three packages lasting two days, tourism officials said.

The first tour, beginning from capital city Thiruvananthapuram, will cover places like Kovalam, Tiruvallam, Attukal, Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Veli and Neyyar dam.

Another group will begin from Kochi and cover the Ernakulathappan temple, Kaladi, Thripunithura, Athirampuzha, Guruvayur and Kadampuzha. The third group will start from Angamali and cover the places like Kanniyur, Bharananganam, Malayattur, Pala and Valiyapalli, sources said.

The department also has plans to set up a global village in its commercial capital Kochi to woo foreign tourists, they added.

According to their latest figures, around 8.5 million domestic tourists visited the state in 2010 and the number of foreign tourists was 700,000.-NNN-BERNAMA