On World Tourism Day, call to make Kerala’s tourist destinations inclusive

Tourism agencies and stakeholders hosted a slew of innovative events in the district to observe World Tourism Day on Tuesday even as challenges remain in the form of wholly inadequate infrastructure to host differently abled people, the threat posed to the sector by the proliferation of stray dogs that often turn violent, unscientific garbage disposal, and sea erosion that is driving people away from beaches.

Artistes from West Kochi welcomed tourists to Mattancherry by applying home-made Mehndi, which is very popular in the area, on the hands of around 300 guests, in front of the Dutch Palace. The celebrations were led by M.S. Shifana who made it to the Indian Book of Records by making the biggest Mehndi.

Shifana, a mehndi artist, applies mehndi on the hand of Ernakulam District Collector Renu Raj to open a ‘mehndi for tourists’ event organised by the State Tourism department, District Tourism Promotion Council, and Cochin Heritage Conservation Society at Mattancherry on Tuesday. (Source: R.K. NITHIN)