Now, easy holidaying in Kerala, God's Own Country

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala – March 15, 2010: The online hotel reservation system of Kerala Tourism is set in for a major expansion with the preparation of a strong database of around 4,500 trade partners. Launched in mid-2009, the system currently has around 200 service providers and more trade partners would join the initiative with the expansion put in place. The system has already proved to be a success with thousands of travelers availing of the facility within a short span of time.

The online accommodation reservation system offers travelers a wide range of choices from five-star hotels to homestays in remote corners of the State. Around twenty-five thousand rooms in Destination Kerala at various destinations, including Alappuzha, Kumarakom, Munnar, Periyar, Wayanad, Kochi and Kozhikode are available for reservation through the system.

With this facility, rooms can be booked online any time by visiting www.keralatourism.org. The booking can be done by using major credit cards, debit cards; through net banking and other facilities like Pay Pal. The specialty of the online reservation platform is that the payment made for reservation goes directly to the account of the property owner.

Search facility

The search facility in the reservation system enables visitors to make quick choices in simple steps. The two types of search options viz. Simple Search and Advanced Search enable visitors to find out the most suitable choice in a matter of seconds.

"Initiatives like the online reservation system aims at providing travelers a complete holiday experience with least hassles and formalities,'' says Dr Venu V., Secretary, Kerala Tourism. Over the years, Kerala Tourism has become an active facilitator to the industry, rather than staying as an onlooker, he said.

M. Sivasankar, Director, Kerala Tourism attributes the success of the online reservation facility to the whole-hearted support of trade partners. "The spirit of the travel and tour industry in the State to avail of modern technologies has always helped Destination Kerala to move ahead of times," he said.

More about www.keralatourism.org

Ever since its launch in 1998, www.keralatourism.org, has played a decisive role in the branding of Destination Kerala across the globe. Over the years, the website has become the one-stop reference for travelers to the destination. The website has won several prestigious awards and honours, including the national award instituted by the Union Ministry of Tourism on four occasions.

The website is available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Chinese and in Indian languages viz. Hindi and Malayalam. On an average, the site gets 1,25,000 visitors a month and each visitor, on an average spends around seven minutes on the website.

Contact:

Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala
Park View, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India - 695 033
Tel: +91 471 2321132
Email: info@keralatourism.org
Website: www.keralatourism.org