The second Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) will be kicked off on December 1, 2008. The first which had been a tremendous success, saw the active participation of more than 2100 institutions. This year, more than 5000 institutions are expected to participate in the festival, which focuses on turning the state into a commercial trade hub and attracting more business opportunities.The feedback derived from different sources after the first GKSF has been thoroughly studied and the productive comments are included in chalking out the plan. For the successful conducting of the festival, committees have been formed with the respective district collectors in the lead. The assistance and co-operation of the trade and industrial organizations will also be sought, said Mr Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Minister for Tourism.
There are three separate membership plans for the GKSF. Corporation and municipal regions and selected tourist as well as pilgrim centres will be the hubs of the festival. The registration will commence on August 15, 2008. Many gift offers, including scratch and win cards, will be among the attractions to woo the customers. The special fetes held as part of GKSF will add colour to this much-awaited season of shopping.