Nowadays, the students and teachers of CMS College, Kottayam, aren’t the only ones who are discovering the joys that their grand old campus offers.
The 200-year-old institution, a blend of colonial and traditional Kerala architectural style constructions, is now emerging as a major academic tourist destination with a steady stream of visitors, including foreigners, exploring its history and heritage and studying about its transformative journey spanning over two centuries. The visiting public are also allowed to get a first hand experience of the knowledge-based materials and other intellectual assets.
Varghese C. Joshua, the college Principal, said the campus with its green open spaces, heritage buildings and other academic facilities had also landed in the radar of a few international tour agencies already. “Over the past seven to eight months alone, the campus has received an average of 150-200 visitors every month. Majority of the foreign guests come here as part of their academic projects. It is against this backdrop that we decided to blend these two concepts to launch an academic tourism programme,” he said.
