Minister for Tourism PA Mohamed Riyas ushered in the new service at the end of 2023, demonstrating Kerala tourism’s ambition to create a network of tourist destinations across the state. (Kerala Tourism official website)
As 2024 gets comfortable on calendar pages, New Year resolutions have been decreed. In Kerala, change is literally in the air as the state’s tourism department made headlines by inaugurating heli tourism. .
Minister for Tourism PA Mohamed Riyas ushered in the new service at the end of 2023. The initiative demonstrates Kerala tourism’s ambition to create a network of tourist destinations across the state.
Supported by the sector’s public-private participation (PPP) initiative, the state will collaborate with private players to connect top tourist destinations via land, sea and now, air.
Also Read: Tourism Minister launches Kerala’s heli-tourism initiative
Kerala’s backwaters and hill stations have been tourist favourites for many years.
With caravan and houseboat services, the tourism department found a way to introduce immersive sightseeing experiences to visitors from around the world.
However, they now enter their next phase, with a vision that looks beyond sightseeing.
“Tourism is changing”, shares Dr Manoj Kumar Kini from the Department of Tourism.
“The focus right now is on experiential tourism” he tells South First. Tourist demands have grown beyond mere visual satisfaction, he reveals.
New Year gift from Kerala Tourism..Heli Tourism project launch at Kochi. #HeliTourism pic.twitter.com/IMdfEEXk9Z
— PA Mohamed Riyas (@riyasdyfi) December 31, 2023
Sightseeing is slowly becoming an outdated form of tourism, according to Anil Narayanan of Chipsan Aviation. Chipsan is the service provider for the heli tourism initiative’s infrastructure. They also offer chartered helicopter services and private heli tourism packages.
“Away from the bustle of a city, people want to spend more time in one place,” he tells South First.
By collaborating with the government, private operators have now entered the mainstream, inviting the public to experience tourism from an entirely different angle.
“Heli tourism offers tourists a bird’s-eye view of Kerala” shares Kini.
While breathtaking views are a guarantee, the added benefit of clear skies devoid of air traffic is one of heli tourism’s biggest appeals.
“The population density of Kerala is three times the national average. And the number of vehicles on the road is also drastically increasing,” reveals Kini.
“It will take 4-6 days to travel the whole of Kerala from the north to the south,” shares Narayanan.
“During this trip, you will spend 60% of your time on the road, stuck in traffic” he adds.
Kini also highlights that air tourism and short-distance air travel can lead to other facets of helicopter connectivity.
“As this infrastructure develops, its facilities can open doors for medical airlifting and disaster management,” Kini points out.
Currently, the government’s Heli Tourism initiative is built upon the motivation for public-private participation (PPP), which seeks collaboration between the government and private entities to deliver services for public benefit.
Although heli tourism has existed in the private space for many years, it lacked widespread visibility. With the government’s intervention, this space can scale up, according to Narayanan.
Service operators like Chipsan Aviation have the infrastructure for air tourism. But, they often lack the access to render their services to a wider market.
Heli Tourism kicked off in Kerala.
CIAL will be the base and services are offered to Trivandrum, Munnar, Alappuzha, Kumarakom etc. which are the tourist hotspots of the state.
Recently there was a news report that Kochi is now just a transit point for tourists. pic.twitter.com/vovQgxghCW— Great Kerala (@GreatKerala1) December 31, 2023
Chipsan Aviation has various heli tourism packages under their services, including pilgrimage packages that fly pilgrims to Sabarimala and Guruvayoor.
With the government’s intervention, they will be able to cater to a larger commercial clientele. Additionally, this will help gain access to other tourist destinations like Jatayu Rock, Kumarakom and Alappuzha.
“The state can help utilise lands that can accommodate helipads at government-owned properties,” Narayanan suggests. This will also generate revenue for such spaces, he adds.
Since helicopters must pay a landing fee, creating a space in police grounds and college grounds will bring in revenue for those government institutions which can further be used for maintenance and development, Narayanan notes.
Private resort and hotel owners from popular tourist destinations have already shown interest in partnering with the tourism department to lend their spaces for the promotion of heli tourism.
Recent tourism expos saw numerous private players at the forefront of expressing their support for the new venture which will make agreements imminent, suggests Kini.
According to Narayanan, heli tourism has always served a clientele that preferred curated trips.
“In heli tourism, tourists tend to decide how long they’d like to spend at a particular place. Depending on their interest, we chart their schedule and fly them to those areas they’d like to visit,” he shares.
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While their services have been availed by high-end clients, Chipsan’s partnership with Kerala tourism can bring heli tourism to the itineraries of more travellers.
“Landing fees are one of our biggest expenses,” he reveals. “With the government’s intervention and the development of more helipads, this can hopefully be regulated, thereby bringing down the overall trip price.”
Currently, Kerala tourism’s new microsite detailing their heli tourism service displays three heli packages with a varying price range depending upon each trip’s duration and availability.
“I don’t think heli tourism is going to drastically affect road tourism” shares P.A. Narayanan, who has been driving tourists across Kerala since 1996.
“Even though heli tourism has arrived, places that can only be reached by road can’t be accessed any other way” he reveals.
Narayanan has seen the overflow of traffic across Kerala noting that the stretch from Cochin to Kasargod often witnesses heavy traffic jams.
However, certain projects that are underway may resolve this problem.
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“The upcoming coastal highway could hopefully cut down travel time by half,” says Narayanan, referring to the 625 km highway under construction. This will connect Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kerala’s northernmost district, Kasargod.
But popular hill stations like Munnar and Vagamon still have spaces that can only be accessed by small roads.
“While the main highways are being widened, all the other roads that go through smaller towns are facing massive traffic issues,” shares Narayanan.
This, however, could be resolved through a collaboration between heli tourism and road tourism.
“Heli tourism or road tourism alone can’t survive,” Narayanan believes. He suggests that tie-ups between the two can produce mutual benefits.
“Even though the clientele might be different, heli tourism clients who land at a particular spot can be picked up by road tourism agents and dropped off at nearby tourist spots,” he recommends.
“Before, when you opened up Kerala tourism’s website, you’d see the usual pictures of houseboats or caravans,” Anil Narayanan says.
“But now with this new venture, there is a different look to tourism in Kerala” he adds. The state’s approach to tourism is evolving as per the demands and interests of tourists.
“Kerala is competing with international players like Maldives and Bali now” shares Kini.
“On such a landscape, we need to explore new channels of tourism” he suggests, revealing that exciting plans are underway for Kerala’s tourism sector.
During the first nine months of 2023, the state attracted 1.60 crore tourists from within the country itself.
As more people from around the world pack their bags to visit God’s Own Country this number is bound to rise, taking Kerala’s tourism sector to newer heights.
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