India News | Bekal Beach Festival Sets Example for State Tourism Sector, Says Kerala CM

Kasargod (Ker), Dec 24 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday opened the much-awaited Bekal International Beach Tourism Festival, a first-of-its-kind global event here in the State and said the festival can contribute to its tourism sector.

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The 10-day-extravaganza, which would showcase the wholeness of the northernmost district's cultural and artistic uniqueness and display the rich cultural diversity and grandeur of the country, was launched at Bekal Beach Park.

Inaugurating the event, the Chief Minister stressed the need to conduct similar festivals to tide over the challenges posed by COVID-19 in the last two years.

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Known for its historical relevance and panoramic beauty of nature, Bekal has always been a favourite destination of tourists as well as history students, he said.

For a State like Kerala, where tourism is one of the major sources of income, there is a wide scope for such festivals with public-private partnerships, he said.

"Kerala has become a sought-after tourism destination globally. Well-known magazines like Time have included the State among the best 50 tourist destinations in the world and that is a great recognition for Kerala tourism,” Vijayan said.

He said the State government has come up with projects aiming at comprehensive growth for the tourism sector.

However, he cautioned that concerns related to COVID-19 have not fully subsided and the public need to be alert. "As of now, there is no need for any anxiety. But, an alert is already in place around the globe as well as in the country...a new variant of the COVID-19 has been reported in many places. So, we should maintain vigil," he said. Vijayan explained how the COVID-related restrictions and setbacks had adversely impacted the tourism prospects of the southern State. Minister Ahamed Devarkovil inaugurated the robotics exhibition held as part of the fest, an official statement said. He said the government was proud to organise such an event in Kasaragod which is called ‘Sapthabhasha Sangamabhoomi' (the land where seven languages meet). By crossing the barriers of religion, such festivals need to create a symphony from diversity and it was everyone's duty to display brotherhood and unity, keeping aside all differences, he added. The event offers a variety of programmes for the public. 'Chandragiri', 'Tejaswini' and 'Payaswini' are three major venues of the show where different events and shows would be held. In Chandragiri, the main venue, artistes of national acclaim would perform. Kudumbashree will conduct events in Tejaswini and native artistes would perform at Payaswini, it said. A grand carnival, water sport, helicopter ride, flower show, business meet, edu expo, and B2C market are also part of the fest, the statement added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)