Kerala’s Responsible Tourism projects bag national awards

Kerala's Responsible Tourism wins national awards for Best RT Village and Best Agri-Tourism Village, promoting sustainable and inclusive tourism.

Kerala’s Responsible Tourism (RT) initiative has bagged two national awards for the Best RT Village and the Best Agri-Tourism Village for the schemes it implemented at Kadalundi and Kumarakom respectively.

The awards instituted by the Union Ministry of Tourism were presented by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the presence of Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar at a function in New Delhi on Friday to mark the World Tourism Day.

The awards were received by Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission (KRTM) Society CEO K. Rupeshkumar, Kadalundi grama panchayat president Anusha V.V. and Kumarakom grama panchayat president Dhanya Sabu.

The KRTM Society has implemented a slew of initiatives as part of its STREET (Sustainable Tangible Responsible Experiential Ethnic Tourism) project at Kadalundi in Kozhikode district in collaboration with the grama panchayat.

The famed backwater destination of Kumarakom in Kottayam district, adjudged the best agri-tourism village, has been turned into a major farm tourism destination through the schemes initiated by the KRTM in partnership with the grama panchayat.

Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas said the awards demonstrated Kerala’s compliance with sustainable and inclusive goals, which have become all the more relevant now.

“Kerala won these awards due to meticulous planning and focussed implementation of the schemes by the Tourism department and the RT Mission Society with the active participation of the local community,” said Tourism Secretary K Biju.