Kerala Tourism introduces first online travel training in India

For the first time in the UK, travel agents will be able to become Indian destination experts by joining the project, ‘Kerala Specialist’.

Kerala Tourism has recently launched an online training for UK travel agents to get acquainted with the Kerala Tourism’s products and to use their learning to increase turnover. The initiative is the first of its kind by any state tourism office in India.

The ‘Kerala Specialist’ programme was officially opened at the World Travel Mart 2009 in London by Kumari Selja, Union Minister for Tourism. The online education has been developed in cooperation with Travel Uni, a UK-based online training firm specializing in tourism.

The initiative is comprised of six modules about Kerala, including comprehensive information on its culture, geography and history. In addition, the online course consists of in-depth knowledge regarding the state’s tourist attractions and guidelines on how to create a good itinerary for a Kerala trip.

Growing at a rate of around 13 per cent, the state’s tourism industry is a key contributor to Kerala’s economy. Venu Vasudevan, Secretary of Kerala Tourism, informed that the UK is Kerala’s main international market with around 141 thousand arrivals were registered in 2008, a 17 per cent boost over the previous year.

Kerala, situated on the tropical and lush Malabar Coast, is considered as one of the famous holiday destinations in India. The National Geographic Traveller magazine once named Kerala as one of the world’s top 10 paradise locations and nominated it as one of the best 50 tourist places worldwide.