Nehru Trophy Boat Race to restart this year

The annual boat races, which attract a large number of tourists, were not organised in the past two years due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Tourism Department is planning to restart the Nehru Trophy boat race and the other major boat races this year by following all COVID-19 protocols, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas told the Assembly on Monday.

The annual boat races, which attract a large number of tourists, were not organised in the past two years due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The restarting of the races will strengthen Kerala's tourism sector, said Mr. Riyas.

A major marketing campaign will be launched to promote Ayurveda-based health tourism in the State, as there is an expected influx of tourists in this sector in the post-pandemic period. A classification system will be introduced for Ayurveda centres. He said that the Tourism department is planning a major initiative with the Local Self Government department to promote local tourism destinations. As many as 500 unexplored tourism destinations will be identified in the next five years.