Indian Kerala Tourism Minister AP Anil Kumar has told IANS that his department’s efforts to attract more and more tourists from China and Sri Lanka were paying off.

“The first luxury liner from Sri Lanka is expected to dock in Kochi on October 2 and chartered flights from China are expected during the coming tourist season that begins in November,” Mr Kumar said.

He said the luxury liner from Colombo will reach Kochi and will then go to the Maldives.

“Around 2.2 lakh tourists from Sri Lanka visit India every year but very few travel to Kerala. We will soon begin an aggressive ‘Visit Kerala’ campaign in Sri Lanka,” the minister said.