Kerala launches "Dream season" for domestic tourists

New Delhi, May 13 (UNI) Get set for a package dream holiday in the "God's Own Country.

The "Dream season" beckons travellers offering incredible rates and discounts for the first time.

Kerala has always been beyond the dream of domestic travellers because of it being rated as one of the costliest tourist destinations.

That image is set to change now with Kerala Tourism offering great-value packages ranging from Backwater Houseboat Cruises to Hill Station Holidays, Ayurvedic Rejuvenation Packages to Monsoon Honeymoon Trips.

The offer named "Dream Season in the God's Own Country" is a unique initiative of the Tourism department with the aim of creating competition among the hotels and resorts to offer special packages during April-September, a "lean" season with occupancy rate remaining at 30 to 40 per cent.

For the first time, the industry has come forward to offer discounts up to 50 per cent on accommodation, cruises and Ayurvedic massage and treatment through a web platform created by the Tourism Department and managed by the industry.

Browse through www.keralatourism.org/dreamseason and take your pick which includes even an offer of three days and two nights for a couple for an unbelievable price of Rs 4444 at the government-owned Hotel Samudra at the beach resort of Kovalam, near Thiruvananthapuram.

All the hotels are offering free pick up and drop from the airport. Some of the hotels offer free breakfast and dinner. There is sizeable discount in Ayurvedic massage and treatment.

An Ayurvedic Centre at Kovalam offers accommodation, food and "Panchakarma" treatment at an attractive Rs 1950 per day. It lasts for 21 to 28 days during the monsoon months (June-August) considered most suitable for panchakarma treatment.

Kerala Tourism Secretary Dr V Venu told UNI here today that the department had created the "micro site" for the industry partners.

"It is a virtual market place to display their products and prices." He said all the hotels and resorts were given one page each in the website so that they could announce their rates and packages to woo the tourists. "They could directly access their page and update it according to their requirements." MORE UNI