Kerala Tourism to Host Global Surfing, Paragliding, Mountain Cycling Events

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Scaling up Kerala’s standing as an adventure tourism destination, the state is all set to host international Surfing, Paragliding and Mountain Cycling championships in February-March this year.

The International Surfing Festival will be held at Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram district on February 27 and 28, the International Paragliding Festival at Vagamon in Idukki from March 19 to 23 and Mountain Terrain Biking Championship (MTB Kerala 2025) on March 28 and 30 at Manathawady in Wayanad.

All the three events are organised by Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) under the Tourism Department, in association with the District Tourism Promotion Councils (DTPCs) concerned.

“As a leading adventure sports destination, these events firmly mark Kerala on the global adventure tourism map, thereby attracting tourists and adventure sports enthusiasts, giving a further impetus to the long-term growth of tourism industry,” Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said.

The state’s core strengths to hold such events as well as the support extended by the state agencies and tourism stakeholders made the previous editions of these festivals a big success, the Minister added.

Surfers from different parts of the country will vie for honours in various categories such as SUP Technical Race, Paddle Board Technical Race and SUP Surfing. Technical support for the event is extended by Surfing Federation of India and International Surfing Association (ISA).

Noting that the championship aims to transform Kerala into a major surfing destination, Riyas said it will provide an opportunity for water sports enthusiasts to know more about surfing.

The International Paragliding Festival, India’s biggest aero sports event, to be held at the picturesque backdrop of Vagamon, will have around 75 gliders vying for honours, of whom 40 will be from abroad.

The participants will be from 25 countries including France, Italy, US, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, UK, Belgium, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, Peru, Czech Republic, Norway and Canada, besides states like Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

The highlight of the fest will be the competition for Vagamon International Accuracy Cup 2025 featuring the best paragliding pilots from world over, which will be the first Top Landing event in the world.

KATPS is organising the event in association with DTPC, Idukki. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), Aero Club of India, and Orange Life Paragliding School, India will provide technical support to the event.

Cyclists from about 25 countries are expected to participate in the eighth edition of International Mountain Cycling Championship (MTB Kerala 2025). The event will also feature amateur competitions of cyclists from India. The winners can compete with global cyclists of MTB Kerala.

The five-km-long track for the race is above 3000 feet from the sea level. The major attraction of the event is the Cross-Country cycling in which cyclists have to negotiate the muddy, rocky and puddled terrains.

MTB Kerala has been featured in the MTB calendar of Switzerland-headquartered Union Cyclist International, the administrative arm of sports cycling.

KATPS is organising the annual event in collaboration with DTPC Wayanad and Cycling Federation of India (CFI).

Training programme
KATPS in association with Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) will be conducting a training programme to increase workforce in the adventure tourism sector, in the wake of increasing relevance of this segment in tourism.

Training will be in Adventure Activity Assistant (7 days), Adventure Activity Supervisory (8 days) and Nature Interpreter (8 days) categories. The first batch of 25 candidates will commence their training at Thenmala in January, followed by others in Wayand and Idukki.

The training fee for Adventure Activity Assistant and Supervisory categories is Rs 14,000 and Rs 16,000 respectively. Application forms are available on the websites of KATPS and KITTS.

Free hospitality course at KITTS
Meanwhile, KITTS will also be conducting a Front Office Associate course in hospitality sector for free of fee, under the Central government’s ‘Hunar Se Rozgar’ project. Those who are above 18 years and have passed Class 12 can apply.

Participants will be provided stipend, uniform, on-the-job training and government-approved certificate. For more details, visit: www.kittsedu.org. Applications can be sent to: Director, KITTS, Residency compound, Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram-14.