Lonely Planet entry a boost to tourism in north Kerala

KANNUR: With the global tourist expert Lonely Planet listing north Kerala, especially the beaches in Kannur, Kasaragod and also the wild beauty of Wayanad, as one of the top 10 must-see places in Asia for 2017, the Tourism Department officials are in high spirits, as it would attract more tourists here.
According to T K Manzoor, managing director, Bekal Resorts Development Corporation (BRDC), apart from attracting more tourists, especially foreigners, the destinations in Malabar will get more attention among the tour operator fraternity, and it will help the place in the long run.
“Places like Kovalam emerged as a major destination thanks to such listings, and this is a major recognition,” he said.
North Kerala is the third in the list of top 10 must-see places in Asia for this year. Travelers have been making a beeline for Kerala’s southern beaches for years but Northern Kerala has long been the underrated half of the state, concealing its backwater charms and emerging slowly like a butterfly from a chrysalis, it said.
The pristine beaches around Kannur, Thottada and Bekal as also the underrated wildlife sanctuaries and natural beauty of Wayanad apart from the home-stays in these places helped north Kerala find a place in the Lonely Planet list, which also said opening of a new international airport in Kannur, which is the largest in Kerala, will provide an easy introduction to the north.
Vertical marathon at Paithalmala
It is a major recognition that the Lonely Planet has listed the destinations including Kannur as one of the must see spots, and it will give a fillip for the tourism potential of the place, said Kannur District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) secretary Jitheesh Jose.
He said along with the beaches, the hill stations are also being promoted in a big way in the district, and as part of this a vertical marathon would be held at Paithalmala, the hill station in the district, on July 30. The vertical marathon, which is being organised for the first time in the district, would begin from Pottanplavu at 11.30 am and conclude at the resort.
Announcing this, Kannur district collector Mir Muhammed Ali said similar events would be held in other destinations too and the next would be a nine-kilometre marathon at Muzhappilangad beach in the last week of August.