Kerala’s ‘look east’ campaign aimed at attracting tourists from East Asian countries to the State will begin on April 9 with a 90-member delegation from eight countries, including social media influencers and 40 outbound tour operators from countries such as China, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Laos touring the State from Wednesday, meeting various stakeholders and property owners and attending a B2B Meet in Thiruvananthapuram.

The programme is part of an initiative by the Kerala Tourism in association with Malaysian Airways to look beyond the traditional markets of Kerala and tap the emerging tourism markets in East Asia, according to Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas. The U.S. and the U.K. were the two countries that dominated the international tourism segment in the State which together contributed around 28% of the total foreign tourist arrivals in Kerala. Though Kerala had been receiving some tourists from Malaysia and Australia, the East Asian countries were promising markets for Kerala Tourism, said Mr. Riyas.

Kerala needed to devise strategies to attract tourists from other regions along with its traditional tourism markets of Europe and the West Asian countries, the Minister said.

According to tourism experts, although a bit late, the new initiative is timely and essential to increase the footprint of foreigners in Kerala. “We also need a research and development wing in Kerala Tourism to study in detail and formulate action plans based on the findings,” said experts.

The main event of the campaign will be held in Thiruvananthapuram, and the initiative is expected to benefit the capital in a big way. Dedicated flight connectivity to Kerala offered by Malaysian Airlines will play a significant role in attracting both inbound and outbound tourism in the State. The emergence of the UAE and Doha as major transit hubs in West Asia helped Kerala improve its stakes in foreign tourism, with key industry players offering Kerala-based itineraries for foreign tourists by promoting beach, backwater, and wellness tourism, the major attractions for foreigners in Kerala.