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Draft tripartite pact signed at tourism meet

Photo: H. Vibhu

ATTRACTING TOURISTS: Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan inspects a houseboat with a swimming pool in it at the Kerala Travel Mart in the city on Sunday. —

KOCHI: A draft tripartite agreement for cooperation in the field of tourism among India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) was signed here on Sunday, the second day of the Kerala Tourism Mart 2008.

The agreement was signed during a workshop on cooperation among IBSA, inaugurated by the Minister For Finance Thomas Isaac. The Minister stressed the need for economic and cultural cooperation among the three countries and recalled that the Government of India had taken great efforts to see the agreement through.

Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Leela Nandan made the Incredible India presentation and said that the agreement was a prelude to the future agreement.. The IBSA formation took shape in 2003 and has now been noticed by the rest of the world, said a statement issued at the end of the day’s proceedings on Sunday. The combined value of the trade among the countries stood at 10 billion US dollars at the end of last year and a target of 15 billion US dollars was placed for 2010.

Carlos Rebiero, Diplomatic Officer, Brazil and Zukiswa Nkherianya, Deputy Director, Tourism, Government of South Africa made presentations on their countries. Dr. Venu V., Secretary, Tourism, Government of Kerala, initiated the discussions.

Dr. Venu said later at a press conference that efforts were being made to promote responsible tourism and that responsible tourism was a major theme in Kerala Travel Mart 2008.

Kudumbashree groups have put on exhibition a large array of products that could be sourced by the tourism industry, said Dr. Venu.

Earlier in the day, Minister for Tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan inaugurated the Travel Mart exhibition. The Minister visited the stalls of the exhibition which are showcasing a variety of services.

The Travel Mart this time is paying a lot of attention to small players in the tourism field who are offering homestays and Ayurvedic services, among other facilities. There are 72 small and medium players participating in the Travel Mart.

Vijay Thakur, president, IATA, said that he felt this edition of Travel Mart was the best so far. He said the response to the Travel Mart was overwhelming.

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