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Sri. M P M Munawar, CEO Malabar Tourism Board speaks to Pramod Kumar. T, a
free lance travel writer.
How do you differ Mystiques of Malabar with Malabar Tourism and Travel
Mart 2005 (MTTM)?
This time we organised Travel mart in much professional style. You know
MTTM-05 was staged at dual venue like vibrant city of Kozhikode and Wayanad.
By comparison, MTTM witnessed more than 327 tour operators and 87 companies
for trade enquiries. All 64 stalls were air-conditioned this time. Moreover,
delegates from various countries like USA UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Qatar,
UAE, Russia, Thailand, and Slovenia attended. This mart witnessed some
fruitful discussions and seminars on tourism. Now we are confident that
tourism will set up new benchmark in Malabar.
How do you justify for staging MTTM-05 in multi destinations?
It was great uniqueness this time. Through this Wayanad showed her
tremendous capability to organize a great event like this. Participants from
all walks came to realize various tourism potential of Wayanad through this
bold measure. It added further milestone to familiarize an exotic
destination to the world of tourism. And MTTM remains a great opportunity to
showcase various tourism products of Malabar.
Why do you feel Malabar can be an alternate destination to south Kerala?
This is a sensible question indeed. For two millennia, Malabar has been
attracting people from whole world. Gold, ivory, timber, spices and its
inspiration turned the history of this country. But still she remained as
unspoiled with her spectacular beauty as a tourist destination. And she is
quite unknown to the outer world. Malabar has got all the tourist products
what south Kerala can offer if not more, and moreover Malabar is very close
to nature. Through life style and festivals, this land traditionally
welcomed people from all over the world. Friendly and helpful people is the
advantage of this land. The art of Kalaripayattu evolved as an art of combat
in Malabar terrain. Heritage wise Malabar offers Edakkal caves, a Stone Age
wonder dating back to 5000 years of tradition. The place has got more than
ten distinctive beaches. The untouched Silent Valley, which is one of the
last remaining tracts of tropical rain forest and dense green forests of
both Wayanad and Parambikulam are unmatched. Crystal clear and serene
backwaters Valiyaparamba and Kavvai islands, the mystical divinities of
Theyyam, verdant wonder of Kuruva dweep are few things only Malabar can
offer.
How can Malabar be segmented & marketed?
Malabar can be segmented by picking some prospective segments like
adventure tourism, eco-tourism, religious tourism & cultural tourism. While
segmenting Malabar we should effectively deploy the products in such a way
that it caters to all strata of segments and income level. Malabar should be
marketed by adopting some of the serious measures like participating in
various National and International travels marts like WTM, ATM, South
African Travel Mart, road shows, exhibitions etc. Health Tourism is an
emerging segment for taping Malabar. Eco tourism is surely another promising
sector, while eco- certification scheme will ensure quality in this segment.
MICE is another segment to be nurtured in this sector.
How do you visualise Kerala as a tourist destination five years from
today?
Kerala has got stunning variety of tourism products to offer. We have
great accommodation facilities like house boats and resorts, excellent
infrastructure with three international airports and the fourth one is in
the pipeline. More over the environment is more peaceful and our 100%
literacy will be a winning edge to Kerala Tourism.
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 Taj
Malabar Cochin Hotel Kochi 
Situated on Willingdon Island with a magnificent view of Cochin harbour,
Taj Malabar Cochin Hotel Kochi combines old-world elegance with modern
day convenience. The hotel comprises twp wings, namely the heritage wing
with its graceful Victorian interiors and the tower wing housing elegant
guestroom suites, each a delicate mix of the classic with the
contemporary. |
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