Yet another initiative of Kerala Tourism to serve the tourists by making the destinations closer! Kerala is all set to launch Sea Plane Tourism, which will facilitate the visitors to enjoy a panoramic view of the state’s natural assets in a short time, and thus save time that would have otherwise been lost in travelling from destination to destination by road. The service is being operated under the Aviation Ministry’s UDAN scheme to improve connectivity between airports, hill stations and backwaters, and is offering subsidised fares.
Kerala took a significant step towards enhancing its tourism sector as a 17-seater seaplane took off from Kochi and landed next to the Mattupetty dam near Munnar, one of the state’s most popular destinations, in just 16 minutes. The journey would have taken over 4 hours by road. The service plans to use small planes with 9, 15, 17, 20 or 30 seats; passengers will board from floating waterdromes. Given its network of backwaters and dams, Kerala offers an ideal environment for using seaplanes.