Kerala plans media campaign, bloggers' meet in Wayanad to attract tourists

The Kerala government is set to launch a "tremendous" promotional campaign along with a bloggers' meet in Wayanad in the run up to the Onam season to dispel tourists' concerns that the scenic district was no longer safe in the aftermath of the recent landslides.

Kerala Tourism and Public Works minister P A Mohammed Riyas told PTI during an interview over the weekend that it was "sad" that the July 30 catastrophe in the northern district of the state was being called as "Wayanad disaster" while the fact was that it affected only one part of the picturesque destination.

"Chooralmala is only a place in Wayanad but due to this news spreading that it is Wayanad disaster, everyone is searching this on Internet and thinking something was happening in Wayanad. This led to bookings at resorts being cancelled there.

"The places that are best for tourism in Wayanad, and are about 50 km away from Chhoralmala, (even there) the bookings were cancelled. It is not right to say Wayanad disaster," he