If the setback following the bar license
cancellation by the previous dispensation was not enough, the tourism sector
was further hit by the SC ruling against operation of liquor outlets alongside
national & state highways. Even demonetization played spoilsport affecting
many unsuspecting tourists and sending the industry into a tizzy. While
uncertainty still remains, the state is slowly getting back on its feet and may
have just done enough to avoid a collapse.
P Bala Kiran is a familiar face among Keralites. A
Kerala cadre IAS officer of the 2008 batch, Mr Bala Kiran shot to prominence
following his remarkable stint as the district collector of Kannur for close to
two and a half years. His efforts won him the coveted recognition of 'Best
Collector' in the state, including a special word of praise from the Election
Commission for his vigilant watch over the politically-volatile Kannur
elections. A number of unique projects he implemented in the district have
been adopted by other districts as well as by states. However, his first
posting in the state was as the Director of the Kerala State IT Mission under
the Department of Information Technology. Mr Bala Kiran, an alumnus of IIT
Madras, currently serves as the Director of Kerala Tourism Department.
Not one to hide his fondness for his "second
home", Mr Bala Kiran confesses to being captivated both by the tranquility
and governance offered by the state and hopes to catapult Kerala into the
global tourism map. While the state remains one of the most sought-after travel
destinations in India, the young & enterprising officer believes that a
truly game-changing experience can be brought about only through innovation and
stakeholder involvement. While he is clearly on a mission to revolutionize the
tourism industry through innovative steps and industry participation, he is
equally mindful of the challenges ahead.
Having spearheaded noteworthy projects in previous
roles, the expectations are high. But the highly-driven Hyderabad-born officer
isn't unfazed by the hype. First and foremost, he is a great believer in
Kerala's core competencies but reasons that traditional strengths alone can't
derive sustainable results. In a recent interview with Seasonal Magazine,
Mr Bala Kiran discussed the government's vision for the sector and what it
would take for the proverbial "God's Own Country" to realize its
fullest potential.
Seasonal Magazine (SK): As the LDF government
completes its first year in office, what do you think are its achievements in
the tourism sector?
P Bala Kiran (PBK): There has been a concentrated
effort on increasing the infrastructure of the existing market. This is
actually being done in 2 stages: One, upgrading the facilities that are already
existing. Last 5 years, we have pumped in almost Rs. 600 crores of funds into
upgradation of existing infrastructure. But there was much to be done on the
maintenance aspect. This year we started the ‘Green Carpet Initiative’, taking
the most popular destinations (83 in the first phase) and bringing them to an
international quality with high cleanliness, security, solid waste management,
toilets benchmarks. This will, of course, be done with the help of the local
community. We don’t want to just keep on building new infrastructure, but
consolidate the existing ones.
Having said that, we aren’t pausing on the launch
of new projects. We are taking up huge projects in terms of discovering
potentially attractive destinations. Kerala receives 1.3 crore domestic
tourists and this year, for the first time, we have crossed 1 million
international tourists. The target now is to attract 50% more domestic tourists
and 100% international tourists by 2021.
Keeping that target in mind, South Kerala’s world
famous tourism circuit, is still in the maturity stage. It is only appropriate
that we find newer destinations. Due to this, we are targeting North Kerala as
a premier destination, especially with the coming up of the Kannur
International Airport. Taking into account, the proximity of two other airports
(Kozhikode & Cochin), it is a potential game-changer for the tourism
sector. We want to leverage this to the fullest with neighbouring Wayanad
already a popular destination.
Following this, we have taken up two major projects.
Thalassery Heritage Project phase-II, which banks on the heritage from the
Dutch, Portuguese and English cultures. There would also be efforts to leverage
the existing historical sites in and around Thalassery. The North Malabar
package circuit that we are targeting include Bekal fort, Kannur, Wayanad,
Calicut. Malappuram would be included in the later stage. We want to develop
these districts as part of the new destination package. Guruvayoor is also a
possible addition in the near future.
The second project is the ‘River Cruise Tourism’.
We have a splendid connectivity of around 190-200 kms across 7 rivers and this
initiative will allow tourists to traverse through the pristine beauty of the
state. As you’d know, Malabar is untouched by tourism so the idea is to untap
the virgin beauty of the region. The concept note and data estimates have been
prepared, while the DPR will be presented soon. We are also targeting new
heritage project in Allepey. Seeing the success of the Muziris Heritage project
in Kodungallur, we plan to take up a similar project in Alappuzha. For
this, the master plan is being prepared and consultants have been taken on
board. This project will be starting in two months and we will welcome tenders
soon after that.
SK: Kerala has performed below expectations in the
recent Cleanliness survey. What is your take on this?
PBK: I would differ on this as last year we
featured in the top 40 rankings. Therefore, I was surprised to learn the
ranking had changed drastically. I would imagine that the nominations send in
by the corporations wouldn’t have fitted into the evaluation criteria of the
agency. Maybe they were more focusing on more centralized waste management
which take a lot of markings, evaluation criteria etc.
But, we are committed to
focusing on decentralized waste treatment. In fact, there is no other city
where plastic is banned. I have been staying in Trivandrum for the last 8
months and not once have I had to use plastic. Instead, I would need to use
cloth bags. Which other state can boast of this?
SK: Has the recent court verdict banning sale of
alcohol within 500 metres of national and state highways delivered a huge hit
to the sector?
PBK: Yes, it has affected tourism in a big way. I
wouldn’t want to suppress the facts about this. Though it is seen as a social
taboo in our country, it is not so in other countries. It is part of their
lifestyle. This will lead to a steady decline of tourists who might look for
other alternate destinations. More than that, it is our MICE tourism (Meeting
Incentives Conferences Exhibitions) that has been affected in a big way. After
5 years, for the first time, we have reached negative growth. All the
conferences and meetings are showing cancellations because of the ban
on alcoholic beverages. We hope to
rectify this in close cooperation with various state bodies.
SK: What was the impact of demonetisation?
PBK: We had apprehensions about its effect, but it
hasn’t hit us in a big way. There were. Of course, minor hits in the initial
1-2 months. It hasn’t affected our arrivals as we have a strong
destination-branding.
SK: How do you plan on developing the ecotourism
circuit, which was recently in the news?
PBK: Yes, the reason why it has come up is because
we need to develop new products. Our strengths have traditionally been
backwaters and Ayurveda. The new targets are the 65% adventure-loving, youth
population in India and we want to attract them by introducing water-borne
sporting activities etc.
SK: In your opinion, what are the major roadblocks
with regard to policy making in the tourism sector?
PBK: As you know, tourism can only succeed if it is
takes into account the local community and private industry. It is certainly an
industry-driven sector. Although from the government’s side, there is a lot of
handpulling on the marketing front, it is finally the tour & hotel industry
that builds up the brand to what it is today. Unless that aspect is satisfied
(hotel infrastructure and holiday packages), why would the tourists come to any
state? Therefore, we want to incentivize the private sector and help them in
creating a favourable environment for tourism in Kerala.
SK: Any of your projects being funded by KIIFB?
PBK: There are a total of 8 projects being funded
by KIIFB. The government has given principal sanction and the DPRs have been
submitted. Once the approval comes in, we’ll start with the projects.
SK: How has the response been so far from the
hospitality sector bigwigs in relation to the efforts of your department?
PBK: In the last 3 months, we have received 3
awards in the domestic tourism category. Outlook Traveller magazine had given
us an award as the best destination in the Wellness & Spirituality segment.
Also, Lonely Planet magazine awarded Kerala as the ‘Best Family Destination in
India’. Recently, Holiday IQ selected us as
the best destination for water front. So, the brand is going very strong. If we
make adequate changes in our liquor policy and incentivize industry, there is
no way why Kerala can’t compete with some of the top destinations in the world.
We are coming up with a tourism policy soon.
SK: What are your long term goals?
PBK: We want to double the number of international
tourists and also increase the arrival of domestic tourists by 50%. The
cumulative total would be around 1 crore tourists a year, which will be a
noteworthy achievement.
SK: Could you share with us some highlights from
your previous assignments?
PBK: I am an IAS officer from the 2008 batch.
Before coming here, I was working as the district collector of Kannur for
around 3 years. I had a wonderful experience there. We were able to launch many
projects during that time. We also won two national awards recently from the
President of India. One for the disabled-friendly district project and the
other for the best conduct of elections. Actually, my core competency is in the
IT field and computer engineering. Before my posting as collector, I also
spearheaded the IT mission in Kerala.
(Interview by John Antony & Carl)
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