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God’s own country wants to be the safest place for women travellers. Kerala is framing a bold new policy to make the State a “women-friendly” destination, Sikha Surendran, Director, Kerala Tourism, told businessline on the sidelines of Kerala Travel Mart’s glitzy 3-day Wedding and MICE conclave, a first-of-its kind initiative by a State to attract high impact global events and big fat marriages.
Surendran said Kerala had just concluded a safety audit of 72 places in the State. Women volunteers were asked to walk the streets at night, book hotels late evening, take cabs and public transport and share their experiences. “We wanted women to tell us what was lacking. We also did consultations with hoteliers, drivers’ associations and local bodies. We have marked all these destinations on how safe they are,” said Surendran. “We are already talking to people in these destinations and telling them where they are lacking and what they need to work on.”
The policy is being framed in collaboration with UN Women. “We will be signing MoUs with hotels ensuring they adhere to the policy we are framing,” she added.
Marriage mart
Meanwhile, Kerala is also on a marketing blitzkrieg to attract a slice of the lucrative $900-billion wedding and the $1.2-trillion MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) markets. Currently, India just has a 1.8 per cent share of the MICE market, though the country’s wedding industry is estimated to be $130 billion.
To woo this market, KTM Society, which organised the conclave jointly with the State Tourism Department, invited events companies, wedding planners, florists and tourism buyers. Over 675 buyers from within and outside the country participated in the event, while there were 75 local exhibitors, mainly big resorts and convention halls.
Participants at the conclave pointed out how Udaipur had successfully positioned itself as a great wedding destination. But taking a different tack from Udaipur’s ‘wedding in a palace’ USP, Kerala showcased its beaches, verdant green hills and backwaters as the ideal setting to exchange sacred vows. It also positioned itself as a great destination for inter-faith, inter-community marriages — a message hammered home in its campaign film Shubh Mangalyam.
“Kerala should stick to its strengths and woo those who want intimate, nature-friendly and inclusive weddings,” said Pramod Lunawat, Founder of Marriageuna and CEO of Millenium Events. For MICE, Kerala is using its responsible green tourism USP.
Interestingly, the big events companies pointed out that from just 32 saya (auspicious for wedding) dates earlier, now there are 104, making it tough for conference planners as hotels get fully booked for weddings. The MICE business is suffering at the expense of weddings.
Published on August 16, 2025
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