Second Terminal at Cochin Airport

Since opening in 1999 Cochin Airport quickly became the airport of choice for most of our customers visiting Kerala.  Not only is it centrally located but gives people a wide range of airline and schedule choices.  On 1 February 2014 work began on a new terminal which will enable COK to handle even more passengers.  It is anticipated that the new terminal will be open to the public in two and a half years.  A forth Kerala airport in Kannur has also been started (scheduled to open next year) and a fifth in Aranmulla is planned.   

Kerala wins Responsible Tourism Award

Kerala Tourism won a United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Award for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism.  The award was for ‘Responsible Tourism’ based on their work in Kumarakom where they have successfully linked the local community with the hospitality industry while sustaining eco-friendly tourism.  The prize was awarded on 22 January 2014 in Madrid and it is the biggest international recognition received by Kerala Tourism to date. 

Nilgiri Tahrs require privacy

Eravikulam National Park is now closed and will reopen on 1 April due to the breading season of Nilgiri Tahrs.

Responsible Travel on Wikipedia

We work with Responsible Travel and many of our customers find us through this site.  However, often they are not clear about the relationship.  Our response has previously been along the lines of ‘Responsible Travel is a travel agent that earns commission on every holiday sold (like a high street travel agent). However, Responsible Travel does not have a ‘shop’ but a website, it is very selective about the products it offers only offering ‘responsible’ holidays’ and (unlike the high street agent) the customer pays the tour operator/accommodation owner directly.  
Recently Responsible Travel secured its very own page on Wikipedia.  So now all we need do is direct people to this site where a full explanation of Responsible Travel is given. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibletravel.com

The Independent Newspaper

We were delighted to see that Sarah Baxter in her article 'India’s Beautiful South' (2 October 2013) featured our lovely new tour HIDDEN GEMS OF SOUTH INDIA in the Independent and The i. She also recommends a number of hotels that we promote including the Chittoor Kottaram, The Lotus houseboat, the Vivanta by Taj at Bekal and Marari Villas (Hibiscus, Palm and Orchid).

If you missed it - check out the article on their website at:

www.independent.co.uk/travel/asia/indias-beautiful-south-8852061.html

Rick Stein loves Kerala

We hope you are watching and enjoying the ‘Rick Stein’s India’ programmes on BBC 2 (Mondays at 9pm).  This week he was in South India - Madurai, Cochin, Backwaters.  We note that the BBC is very careful not to name or even film the outside of the well known hotels (although they do feature the tiny and very basic restaurants) - but we can tell you that the chef he worked with in Cochin was from Brunton Boatyard.  What is really nice about this series is that not only does it give you some great recipes to try but Rick Stein clearly loves India and the people.   The series is six programmes long - if you missed the first three we recommend you catch up with them on BBC iPlayer. 

Neeleshwar wins Award

Neeleshwar Hermitage - one of our customers' favourite hotels in North Kerala - has just announced that it won the award for 'The Best Health and Rejuvenation Resort in India 2013' by the CNBC TRAVEL AWARDS.