Budget tourism trips launched by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) are turning into a consistent revenue generator for the cash-strapped corporation.
Rolled out on November 1, 2021, the Budget Tourism Cell earned around ₹3 crore in four months and now the authorities are considering tie-ups with restaurants and inter-State tour operators.
Packages
The KSRTC is operating 165 different packages from various depots in the State and there are plans to join hands with the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu transport corporations and empanel private agencies to woo more passengers during the summer vacation.
“We took more than 40,000 passengers to destinations scattered across the State during this period. While a family of four will have to shell out around ₹35,000 to visit Munnar from Thiruvannathapuram, our rates are around ₹5,000. The travelling expense per person is below ₹800 and we also arrange low-cost stay and site-seeing for them. As much as 90% of our travellers are families and budget tourism is one of the most profitable ventures we started of late,” says a senior official.
Women-only trips
While demand remains high for many packages, the recently introduced women-only trips are also a huge hit. In connection with International Women’s Day, 100 trips were conducted in a week and around 4,400 women had signed up for them.
“We started gender-specific trips based on the feedback and our satisfaction ratio so far is 99.3% . Apart from the formal feedback collection, we conduct random checks to know customer response and many women demanded this. Though we planned only 50 trips, we had to conduct 100 and it was the Thamarassery depot that conducted the highest number of women-only trips,” he says.
After word spread, many women travel groups, student collectives and Kudumbashree units approached the officials and many depots will soon add extra trips in their schedule to accommodate the bookings.
More options
Though still in its infancy, the corporation is planning to start alliance services to offer budget buffets and stay options to the tourists.
“We are trying to identify restaurants that are ready to offer quality food at reasonable rates. Apart from that, we are on the lookout for homestays, hostels and dormitories that can provide accommodation for our packages. In the next stage, we will introduce a web portal that will connect our packages with all these services,” the official said.
At the same time, the corporation will be soon converting 500 idling buses into air-conditioned sleeper beds.
“At present we are offering this facility in Munnar and within two weeks it will be available in Sulthan Bathery too. We are also planning to introduce family rooms that can accommodate four to five persons. The idea is to become a wholesome tourism provider,” he adds.
