Kochi: Tourists visiting Kerala can now brace themselves for an extraordinary adventure that promises to unveil the hidden wonders of our state from a vantage point never witnessed before. Kerala Tourism is launching helicopter tourism services from tomorrow, which will facilitate the visitors to enjoy a panoramic view of the state’s natural assets in a single day, and thus save time that would have otherwise been lost in travelling from destination to destination.
Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas will flag off the first of the Heli tourism services at CIAL (Cochin International Airport Ltd), Nedumbassery, on Saturday. The web platform created for the facilitation of Heli tourism trips and services will also be launched during the programme. Initially, the services will cover 11 main tourist destinations across the state. Helicopters, generously accommodating 6 to 12 passengers, have been readied and set to take flight, signaling the start of a new era of exploration.
Heli tourism will open doors to unparalleled opportunities for the state. The project will also help in enhancing the connectivity to major tourism centres besides facilitating the arrival of more tourists to these destinations, Minister Muhammed Riyas told ‘Manorama’. Kerala Tourism will function as the facilitator for the Heli tourism project, the advent of which signals the establishment of world-class infrastructure within the state, the minister noted.
The helipads at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Jadayupara, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam Alappuzha, Idukki, Munnar, Kumarakom, Kozhikode and Kasaragod are being utilized for the Heli tourism services. The authorities plan to construct more helipads at tourist centres like Bekal Fort in the second phase of the project. The ambitious project is being initiated at a time when more and more tourists are arriving in the state on luxury cruise ships. Most of these luxury liners berth here for only a single day. The Heli tourism will prove beneficial to the travelers in them, Riyas added. The project is being implemented on a public-private partnership basis. Kerala Tourism will sign a pact with several agencies, having the recognition of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), for the project implementation.
As the first helicopters take flight tomorrow, a new chapter in exploration begins. Tourists, fasten your seatbelts, open your eyes wide, and let the adventure unfold – the skies are calling, and a symphony of wonders awaits.