‘Clean Kerala’ initiative to keep tourist destinations garbage free

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An initiative to make prime tourist destinations across the State of Kerala plastic and garbage free, the ‘Clean Kerala’ initiative was launched on July 24. The initiative is a pilot project under Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission with cooperation of various stakeholders in the tourism sector.

Kadakampally Surendran, Minister of Tourism, flagged off the project and a two-day workshop organised in association with the Kerala Travel Mart and local bodies, praised the RT Mission in rejuvenating tourism sector by promoting good practices like the ‘Green Code of Conduct.’

For the project to be done in phased manner, nine destinations – Alappuzha, Bakel, Kollam, Fort Kochi, Kovalam, Kumarakom, Munnar, Thekkady and Wayand have been identified in phase I. The project aims at getting these destinations Green Certification by making them focus on eco-friendly activities.

With tourists also getting aware of keeping prime destinations garbage free, the minister urged the industry to show more willingness to join the RT Mission initiative and said, “There are around 15,515 units functioning as part of the RT Mission. The government targets to create around 50,000 more units in the next phase.”

Rani George, Secretary, Tourism, said that a serious thinking is needed on how many restaurants, resorts and hotels are associating with the initiative.

P Bala Kiran, Director of Tourism, Rupesh Kumar K, coordinator, Kerala RT Mission, Rahul R, Managing Director of KTDC, Baby Mathew Somatheeram, president, KTM, and Members of Tourism Advisory Committee attended the workshop.