India observes National Tourism Day today to remind us of the country's rich landscapes, vibrant traditions and fests. At a time when the country's tourism industry is on a growth trajectory, Kerala is also making its presence felt through novel initiatives and tourism-based activities. In the next two months, Kerala will host three international tourism events that have drawn many global sportsmen and adventure enthusiasts to the state in the past few years. The International Surfing Festival will be held at Thiruvananthapuram's Varkala on February 27 and 28.

Vagamon in Idukki will host the International Paragliding Festival from March 19 to 23. The Mountain Terrain Biking Championship, MTB Kerala 2025, will be held from March 28 to 30 in Wayanad's Mananthawady. The events are organised by the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion (KATPS) Society under the Tourism Department, alongside the District Tourism Promotion Councils of each district. 

The surfing festival
The venues of the event will be Varkala Beach, alongside Black Beach or Edava Beach, depending on how conducive the waves are, said Binu Kuriakose of KATPS. "Last year, the public participation programmes and cultural events were limited due to elections. This year, the event will have more of such segments. We will have less than 100 participants, and registration will soon begin through the Surfing Federation of India website.  

Representative image: iStock/KenanOlgun
The International Paragliding Festival will be held from March 19 to 23 in Vagamon. Representative image: iStock/KenanOlgun

Paragliding festival and Mountain Biking championship
The Vagamon-based International Paragliding Festival recently got membership in the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which sanctions paragliding events worldwide. Therefore, the participants of the 'Accuracy Cup' (that's how paragliding events are named) will be registered only through FAI's website. "We will be accommodating around 75 participants, and we have already had 51 registrations. 32 of them are foreign paragliders," said Binu. The Mountain Biking championship will also accommodate around 25 foreign nationals, and officials from the World Cycling Federation will judge the event. The details of the registration and participation will be announced by KATPS soon. 

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Beginners too can try a hand
The venues of these international adventure events are for seasoned sportsmen and those who want to take baby steps into surfing, paragliding and mountain biking, which are still nascent in Kerala. For instance, the Varkala Surfers' Association plans to help aspiring surfers test the waters during the fest. Akhilesh Krishnan of the association said, "Last year during the festival, we had given various individuals and groups free surfing lessons in beaches around Varkala. This year, too, those who are in Varkala for the fest and want to try surfing can approach us." Free lessons for the first 50 interested people will be held on February 27 at either Varkala or Edava Beach. Swimming skills are not mandatory, and anyone above 10 years of age can try it out for 1.5 hours, max. Those interested can contact trainer Ram of 'Soul and Surf' surfing school on 9747229909. 
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