Tourists can go wild with adventure sport

KOCHI: Aiming to include Ernakulam in the world circuit of tourism, the  District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) is planning a new project in which the tourists would be provided experience in wildlife spotting and adventure sport. The DTPC will form a tourism circuit connecting Bhoothathankettu, Thattekad and Neriamangalam in this regard. The Council has already initiated a project for adventure tourism at Bhoothathankettu. Once completed, it will be connected with Thattekad and Neriamangalam. The adventure trip will be included in a three-day package  under which the tourists coming to Kochi can travel to Bhoothathankettu and spend an entire day and night there. They can also experience trekking, river rafting and night camping at Bhoothathankettu. On the second day, they can move to Thattekad where the entire day will be set aside for boating and bird watching. By evening, they can go to Neriamangalam where a night camp will be arranged. On the next day, they can return to Ernakulam or move to Munnar.“We are planning a new tourism circuit which will certainly get popular among tourists. The tourism circuit will be realised only after getting the approval of the district administration and the Forest Department,” said DTPC secretary T N Jayashankar.“The circuit will also bring in development in the area and create more job opportunities. However, the project will be very significant for tourism sector in the district as more tourists, especially foreigners, who are  interested in adventure would get attracted to it. We are planning to send  the proposal to higher authorities and expect to get the nod this year,” Jayashankar added.“Adventure-related tourism packages are popular among the tourist coming to our state. Most of them are interested in trekking and jungle trail. The new circuit will be made by keeping in view the interests of these tourists,” the DTPC official said.