The Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF), Asia’s biggest shopping festival and signature show by Kerala Tourism Department, is set to welcome shoppers and tourists from all over the world. The fifth edition of the mega shopping show  will open next month  and run through 45 days to end on January 15, 2012.

The inaugural function will take place in Kochin on December 1, Additional Tourism Director and Director of Grand Kerala Shopping Festival Dr Rathan Kelkar said.

Opening the 38,863 kms of the State for the shopping jamboree, the GKSF-5 will aim at raising the State’s profile as one of the most preferred and the biggest shopping destinations of not only India, but of the world.

The Kerala Tourism Department has designed the festival to give a ‘Real Shopping Experience’ while awarding an opportunity to ‘Feel the Kerala’ where visitors can connect with the State and explore its rich art, crafts, culture, customs and architecture.

Kerala has been the first state in India to promote such a shopping festival on a mammoth scale.