Bahrain Air is planning to promote Kerala tourism to offset the revenue losses caused by the Arab Spring last year, said Naeem Mahamoor, Bahrain Air's marketing manager in Kochi on Monday.
"In Syria and Egypt, the turmoil is still on and it has caused revenue losses of 15- 20% for Bahrain Air since late 2010. Hence, we are trying to promote Kerala and Mumbai as tourist destinations. Channel 2 will broadcast an episode on Kerala and our in-flight magazine Reesha will feature articles on Kerala in the next three months," he said.
"Arab tourists - the first group we are targeting - are interested mainly in shopping, and secondly, in the cool weather of the high ranges, especially Munnar and Thekkady," Mahamoor said.
"A typical Arab FIT (Free Independent Traveller) group will be as big as nine individuals and will prefer deluxe hotels to stay rather than houseboats. Their spending power is higher than that of similar tourists from Western Europe and the US," he added as per a report in TOI by Shenoy Karun.
"During the off-season (May-July), our flights are half-empty and this is the time when schools close in the Gulf countries. With the help of our partners in Kerala, we are hoping to fill these vacant seats.
"Expatriates from West Asia are the second group whom we are targeting. Ayurvedic spas are a great hit with westerners. Kerala is a value-for-money destination for them, and is not as commercialized as Sri Lanka," Mahamoor said.
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