What was the aim and purpose behind setting up a separate identity for Wayanad tourism?
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| Jose Kynadi |
Wayanad Tourism Organisation (WTO) was started as a club by nine members to promote Wayanad as a destination as we were quite unheard of in those days. The objective was a combined marketing effort which would benefit all tourism stakeholders in the region, by way of reducing expenses and at the same time showcasing the destination in the right way. Also those were days when the Malabar was still to wake up and Wayanad was a speck on the tourism map of Kerala. We realised that unless we have strength in numbers, we would not be successful. As the saying goes, unity is strength.
WTO is a non-profit organisation, so how are the promotional activities of the organisation funded?
We get annual subscriptions for our activities and marketing. Also special marketing expenses for attending marts/ organising FAM trips, etc, are shared by all members.
What are the promotional plans lined up for Wayanad this coming peak season?
The year 2012 was a event filled year. The first half finished with a B2B meet along side Splash (The Monsoon Carnival organised by WTO which includes a Travel Mart) in July which witnessed around 500 agents experiencing the hospitality of Wayanad with various activities from rafting to a dollarx4 challenge. In the second half we are now into Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) preparations and promotions, to tap the buyers from both India and abroad. These would make sure that the 2012 promotional budget is effectively utilised and the destination in general is promoted.
Does Wayanad attract tourists all the year round? What is the mix of visitors viz leisure tourists and business (conferences/ conventions/ incentive groups)?
Wayanad gets tourists all the year round with July to September being the lean season (not off season). Thanks to efforts like ‘Splash’ we have been able to convert June -September from ‘off’ to lean season. October-January and April-June 15 is generally the peak season for Wayanad. October- January sees the most foreign arrivals. Round the year, Wayanad enjoys a reasonably good occupancy.
It is still 75 per cent domestic and 20-25 per cent inbound. We need to concentrate on the inbound traffic. Wayanad attracts around one to two per cent of the total inbound that India gets.
Does WTO have any specific plans to develop Wayanad as a MICE destination? What are the conference/ meetings/ convention facilities available in the district?
We are now focusing on MICE tourism as we now have a good convention centre with capacity to seat 1,800-2,000 pax with all modern conference facilities including inbulit audio/visual systems and one of the largest LED walls in India. Hopefully, we can tap this potential, provided the government can help us with better air and rail connectivity. We can now boast of around 1,000 quality rooms just amongst our members alone. These are varied from homestays to five-star category , not to forget the budget and town/city hotels as well.
The new convention centre of one of our members (a five-star deluxe property) is already ready with the first conference on September 21. With the ice broken, I hope things will start rolling from now.
Has the Kerala Tourism policy allotted any funds for the promotion of tourism in the region?
Whatever we are today, Kerala Tourism has played a great role in this growth and the DTPC too. We do get support in events like Splash, but we would be glad to get more support especially for international promos and for B2B meets that are Malabar centric, as we want to see Kerala grow beyond houseboats and beaches.
How is WTO supporting the local communities/ jungle tribes? What CSR initiatives are you promoting?
WTO still retains its social character. Besides promotion and individual business it does its bit for the development of local communities like spearheading causes of waste management/ plastic waste recycle and destination management. It is also part of the management committee of the local ITI to make students employable in the hospitality sector. We also try to bring in international NGOs to provide skill development training to the lower classes to make them employable in the hospitality sector. WTO also promotes sustainable tourism practices through promotion of local handicrafts/ products/ tribal food, etc.
Your comments on the wildlife/tiger tourism ban proposed by the Supreme Court? Do you think this will be a bad move for tiger conservation as many tourism stakeholders believe?
Wildlife and tourism can coexist and can be synergistic as long as we all know and stay within our limits. Animals seldom cross their limits and most conflicts are as a result of man’s greed. If we can stay within our limits, both man and wildlife stand to benefit and we can showcase our national parks and reserves like that of our African counterparts. We (the stakeholders and the government) need a lot of vision to blend this and to make it work.
Do you think the ban will have bad repercussions on states like Madhya Pradesh (tigers) and Kerala (elephants) who thrive on wildlife tourism?
Yes, the ban did have an effect on some destinations like Wayanad as we get wildlife enthusiasts from the adjoining areas like Bandipur/ Mudumali which has greatly reduced. As for elephant tourism, it may go the tiger way if we don’t draw the line and mend our ways. A lot of self restraint and discipline is needed to promote such exclusive tourism circuits. I hope we would do a better job of ourselves and co-exist in peace with nature, which forms the backbone of a destination like Wayanad.
Success of WTO’s initiative Splash? What other festivals are being planned?
After a four- year struggle Splash has become an event but it still needs to succeed in terms of business conversions. So we would rather concentrate on this event and put this firmly on rails before we embark on anything else!
