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Kerala Tourism Development Corporation
   Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) is a public sector undertaking that conducts and regulates the tourism activities in the Indian state of Kerala. The KTDC is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram and has offices across all the districts of Kerala. The agency also operates hotels, resorts, and tourist rest houses in key locations in the state. Its official slogan is "Official host to God's own country." It is one of the most profitable ventures of the Kerala government. HistoryKerala was a relatively unknown state among tourist circles until the early 1960s. The first initiative to popularize Kerala as a tourist destination was undertaken by Travancore's Prince Consort Col. Godavarma Raja (husband of the then Queen of Travancore) started Kerala Tours Limited to popularize key tourist locations in Travancore Kingdom. When Travancore merged with India, Kerala Tours Limited became a private entity under the Travancore royal family. For more than 20 years since Independence, Kerala tended to ignore tourism as a key industry, leaving KTL and other private players to lead the role. In the 1960s, KTL struck gold, by collaborating with Thomas Cook and started popularizing Kovalam in western countries which started the advent of hippie culture in Kovalam Beach. The strong inflow of tourists into Kovalam, started Kerala government to consider tourism as a key industry. Though it tried to nationalize Kerala Tours Limited, it soon fell into legal issues. This resulted in the government to think starting a new entity known as Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) IN 1966.[1] Started as a government department, KTDC became a separate commercial entity by the 1970s. Several premium guest houses of Kerala Government were identified and converted into hotel brands. Lt. Col. G. V. Raja was also the President of Tourism Promotion Council of Kerala. He was the main architect in developing Kovalam as an international tourist spot.[2][3] Objectives
ControversiesOn the early morning of 2 January 2019, Ten members belonging to the Hindu Munnani entered the Kerala House hotel belonging to the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation in the Thousand Lights area, Chennai and smashed the window panes of the hotel. Six members were said to be arrested by the police for damaging public property, criminal intimidation and using filthy language. The attacks came on the same day when two women entered Sabarimala after the constitutional right granted by the Supreme court.[4] PropertiesKTDC owns more than 40 properties ranging from heritage five-star resorts to budget accommodation, managed under five brands in hotel category and 2 in non hotel hospitality category. Heritage Range HotelsKTDC owns 3 flagship properties known for its historical importance.
Specialty Range HotelsKTDC has 7 resort styled hotel properties aiming for leisure travellers. All properties in the premium range are individually branded .
Value plusKTDC has three-star "value plus" range hotels across five districts of Kerala. Most of the hotels are designed to cater business and upper-segment family market. Each value plus hotel property is themed around its location.
Tamarind Easy Tamarind Easy is a series of 15 budget hotels spread across Kerala, to cater to budget tourists. Major cities including Kollam, Alappuzha, Thrissur and Kannur have Tamarind hotels.[6] AaramKTDC was one of the first hospitality chains in India to start series of motels across major state and national highways. The motels are branded as Aaram, which are designed as roadside multi-cuisine restaurants. Every Aaram has a large restaurant, rest rooms and many motels have dormitories as well as a medical center. A few designated Aarams do have beer parlors which serves limited alcohol drinks as well as beer. Events HubKTDC manages 2 properties under Non Hotel Hospitality category. The Bolgatty Events Center which is a 5 star convention center facility located in Bolgatty Island Resort in Kochi is the flagship project under this category. The Events center features a 1000-seater convention hall, a 15-acre open grounds for exhibitions and open air events. GV Raja International Convention Center in Kovalam, Trivandrum is another major facility. Take a BreakTake a Break (TAB) is the latest venture from KTDC, aiming to create roadside multi-utility kiosks that have a refreshment center, a sovenior shop, cloakroom, rest rooms, information center with ATM facility, Pharmacy etc. assist road travellers for a break and quick refreshment. The tourism ministry is planning to open and operate 20 TAB units in their first stage of TAB project implementation. TAB is a Private-Public Partnership program with individuals owning the facility, while KTDC assisting in branding and promotion. Package toursKTDC sells packaged tours[7] of Kerala across world, through a network of travel agents and tour agencies who act as general sales agents of KTDC. More than 20 products are offered by KTDC. Conducted and sight-seeing toursKTDC conducts one-day and two-day sight-seeing tours in major cities as well as in tourist centers. This includes bus/tourist cars trips and boat ferries. Tourist receptionKTDC has several tourist reception centers in all major cities and tourist centers, from where conducted tours start and end, in addition to providing complementary information about tourist destinations, maps and guides. References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kerala Tourism Development Corporation.
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