THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Arrangements for the fifth edition of Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) to be held from December 1 to January 15, 2012, are going on in full swing, said GKSF director Rathan Kelkar. Addressing mediapersons here on Wednesday, Rathan Kelkar said that several innovative programmes have been planned for the fifth edition. Special exhibition hubs will be set up in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur and Tirur in Malappuram district in association with various media organisations.The exhibition hubs will display Kudumbashree products and ethnic handicraft items from the state and outside. To be held for 10-15 days, the expos will also feature a mini-adventure park for children, food court with ethnic dishes, cultural programmes and various contests for children. Discussions are on to organise the expo in Thrissur also.A road show will be held from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram in December in association with the five FM radio stations in the state. At the conclusion of the road show, a T20 celebrity cricket match will be held in the capital in association with AMMA. Tourism PromotionThis year, the festival will give more emphasis to tourism promotion in the state, Kelkar said. A special package for Sabarimala pilgrims in association with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation is on the anvil, he said. As a pilot project, night shopping will be promoted in Kochi which includes illumination of monuments in the city. Cent percent VAT refund for shoppers from other states is another step in this regard, he said. Campaign ProgrammesSpecial brand promotion programmes will be held in the metro cities to promote the festival, Kelkar said. As part of this, publicity material will be displayed at shopping malls and on taxis. Mercantile establishments (MEs) which register in the golden category will be given funding for organising publicity campaigns outside the state. Half of the expense or a maximum of Rs 5 lakh will be given to the MEs selected on a first-come-first-served basis. 15 trade partners selected through a draw of lots will be offered a free visit to the Dubai Shopping Festival. The aim is to give the traders in the state to learn modern trends, Rathan Kelkar said. ME RegistrationAround 1,600 MEs have registered for this year’s edition so far. The GKSF director said it is hoped of more number of registrations this year than the previous year. MEs can register for the festival in gold, silver and general categories.Those who register in the gold category paying Rs 25,000 will be given 300 free coupons and those registering in the silver category by paying Rs 5,000 will be given 50 coupons. No free coupons will be issued to those registering in the general category by paying Rs 1,000. However, all MEs can purchases as much coupons as they wish.Rathan Kelkar said the total estimated cost of the festival is Rs 50 crore.Of this, Rs 25 crore is government funding and the rest will be met by way of sponsorships, registration charges and coupon sales.
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