Kerala offers customised trips to tourists

Thiruvananthapuram, May 24 (IANS) Kerala Tourism is wooing tourists by offering them a chance to create a customised trip plan at economical rates. Tourists will have to log on to the tourism department's web portal and create the preferred itinerary.

Traditionally dubbed 'off-season' during the months of April-May, followed by the monsoon, the department has asked prospective tourists to log on to www.keralatourism.org/dreamdeals to create one's preferred visit plan.

It will then be automatically forwarded to five accredited tour operators in the state who will then get back to the tourists with the best rates.

Kerala Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar said that the response has been encouraging.

"This is also because June is peak summer and school holiday time in North India, where rains are rare. Tourists from there would be particularly tempted to sense the cooler climes of Kerala till end of August," Kumar added.

Tourism Secretary Suman Billa said: "The lean season has yet another advantage with discounts on hospitality expenses and the charges will be lower by around 30 percent".