Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) is an annual shopping event in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The festival is conducted by Kerala's Tourism Department in co-ordination with the Industries & Commerce Department, Finance Department and Local Self Government Department. Through this shopping festival, the

Kerala Government Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

intends to transform the State into a hub for international shopping experience and there by Launch "Shopping Tourism" in the state. In the process, the brand image of Kerala Tourism would go a long way to help upgrade the infrastructure of traditional marketing center in Kerala.

Details

The festival first started on 1 December 2007 to next year 15 January lasting for a period of 46 days with an aim to promote and develop commerce, trade and industrial sector of Kerala using the brand value of Kerala Tourism. The objective of the festival is to make the state an International shopping destination over a period of 5 years and create employment to develop traditional trade centers. During this period stores and shops registered under the GKSF offer wide range of discounts, vat refunds etc. Along with the guaranteed shopping experience, shoppers are provided with gift coupons for a fixed worth of purchase entering them into weekly and mega lucky draws. The festival is a strong step taken forward to regain the lost glory of

in the map of international trade and commerce. The Government aims to utilize the growth in the tourism sector to develop the state as an international trade and tourism destination. As compared to shopping festivals being held in other countries, this Festival converts the entire state of

into a giant shopping mall, incorporating not just the big players, but also the small and medium scale industries. Over 3,000 outlets selling jewellery, electronic goods, textiles, consumer-durables, cars and autos, as well as hotels, restaurants and shopping malls across the state register for this several days long Shopping Festival. The aim of the festival is to make

an international shopping destination in five years on lines of

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and

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and thereby attract tourists in large number to the state. Regional hubs of commercial activity are being planned in major cities and towns for the shopping festival. The 6th season of GKSF (2012-2013) also featured a contemporary art fair. The exhibition-come-sale featuring more than 300 works by over 200 artists was a first-of-its-kind attempt to address the lack of marketing opportunities for Kerala artists. The fair was inaugurated at

Kanakakkunnu Palace Kanakakkunnu Palace is situated in Thiruvananthapuram near the Napier museum, India. It is India's first digital garden, created by Akhilesh S. V. Nair and A. Gangaprasad, University of Kerala, Department of Botany. Today the palace and i ...

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

by Chief Minister

Oommen Chandy Oommen Chandy, , (born 31 October 1943) is an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for two terms, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislati ...

with the sale of two paintings. ----

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.shoppingfestival.in/, Grand Kerala Shopping Festival official website Shopping festivals Retailing in India Economy of Kerala Festivals established in 2007 2007 establishments in Kerala