Kerala Tourism dept to hold virtual Onam celebrations amid Covid, flower arrangement contest for Malayalees all around the world

Considering the surge in Covid-19 cases in the state, the Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas recently announced that the Tourism department will celebrate Onam virtually this year to bring together Malayalees all over the world together on a digital platform and promote tourism for later times.

The state in order to bring the heavily hit tourism sector back on track will identify lesser known tourist destinations in various districts and will assemble them in an app to bring to everyone’s attention. The state suffered a loss of Rs 33,000 crore and foreign exchange earnings of Rs 7,000 crore due to the pandemic from March 2020 till December 2020. Domestic tourism has suffered setbacks since 2016, he said.

Using this app, Kerala’s arts, culture, cuisine, and prominent tourist destinations will be showcased virtually to ignite interest in people motivating them to come and visit the state. Meetings were held at the panchayat level and maps of such hidden gems in the state has been made to be collated and uploaded in the app

The virtual event will be inaugurated on August 14 by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A flower arrangement competition will be held and registration for the same will start online from August 10 onwards. Malayalees can upload a picture of their flower arrangement called ‘onampookkalam’ practiced especially during the festival to participate in the contest.

The virtual programme was organised as Onam celebrations cannot take place publicly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ryas further said that the virtual Onam celebrations want to make every Malayalee in the world a brand ambassador of Kerala tourism.