Caravan park to come up on Bolgatty Palace premises

Kochia caravan park in Kerala to be established under Keravan Tourism project, offering amenities for travelers.

A caravan park, the second such facility in Kerala, is expected to come up beside the honeymoon cottages of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC)-run Bolgatty Palace Hotel and Resort.

Kerala Tourism has allocated ₹1.50 crore for the park that will be established under its ‘Keravan Tourism’ project. The tender to set up the park has been awarded, and work will begin shortly. Another such park has been envisaged on the premises of a KTDC property at Bekal, informed sources said.

The Keravan Tourism project that was launched in 2021 is yet to gain traction in the State, mainly because of non-availability of dedicated caravan parks, barring one at Wagamon. It is hoped that establishing them in government land or on KTDC premises will give them reliability and safety, they added.

Such parks would have amenities such as adequate parking and recreational space, dormitory, kitchen, toilets, EV charging units, and pool, apart from infrastructure to source power and water. At Bolgatty, infrastructure will be readied to host approximately 12 caravans at a time.

A prominent hospitality stakeholder said that dedicated caravan parks held the key to the success of the new tourism product in the State. “A space to put up tents could be an option in these parks. Caravan tourism is a success in most countries and will become popular in the State over time since people are nowadays travelling like seldom before,” he said.

Soon after the Keravan Tourism project was launched, Kerala Tourism received applications from investors to operate 439 caravans and 146 caravan parks. But the delay in readying dedicated parks and scepticism about the project are cited as reasons for it not taking off as had been expected. This was apart from bureaucratic hurdles, including at the level of local bodies.