Sea-planes in Kerala for tourists

A fleet of brand new sea-planes is set to fly travellers to destinations across Kerala starting this summer, an official said Wednesday, who was on a visit here to promote Kerala's tourism potential.

"We are launching the 'seaplane project' that will connect remote places in the water belts surrounding the state to three main airports," said Anil V.S, an information officer in the state tourism department. "We are planning to launch it in the next two months."

The project will enable travellers to fly from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode to lesser-known places like Ashtamudi, Punnamada and Bekal.

"Water docks have been built at these places where the planes will land. Wharfs will carry the passengers to the hotels," the official told reporters here. So far 18 planes have been sanctioned, each with a passenger capacity of nine to 10.

Kerala gets maximum domestic tourists from Gujarat, with West Bengal coming a close second.

"West Bengal is a very potent market for us. Most of the tourists are budget travellers and the notion that Kerala is expensive to visit is wrong. We have got a variety of facilities for budget travellers throughout the year," he added.

Besides the 'seaplane project', Anil said the 'Muziris Heritage Site' (MHS) is also being developed and promoted.

"The MHS stretches from Ernakulam to Thrissur district and 25 museums will be built to promote the Muziris site which is an ancient sea-port," said Anil.