Even with the onset of the tourism and festival season, with foreign tourist numbers far below expectations, stakeholders in the state’s tourism sector are angry with Kerala Tourism (KT)’s “loose response” to wooing new and emerging markets abroad .
He has also expressed concern that he has told the government and KT not to take sector representatives into confidence for policy-making, marketing and other initiatives.
The situation is that even 108 member tourism advisory committee has not met in the last one year. Marketing of tourism products to state destinations and abroad has also gone for a toss, although tourist arrivals from Ukraine and Russia are next to zero due to the war. There has also been a sharp drop in the number of guests from Europe and this does not bode well for the region which is yet to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic during the last two years,” said a seasoned tourism professional.
Ravi Shankar KV, a former member of the Tourism Advisory Committee, said tourism income contributed about 12% of Kerala’s GDP till the pandemic hit. “Nevertheless, it has the potential to contribute 20% of GDP, given its collateral impact on allied sectors such as real estate, IT, medical tourism, culture and rural economy/agriculture. If steps are not taken to protect the beaches in the state, the shortfall in foreign tourist arrivals will get worse. The worst hit would be the Kovalam beach, as the Vizhinjam port project could prove to be the death knell for the beach, which is extremely popular among foreigners.”
Many others are outraged at how much the delay in extending e-visas to tourists from the UK will hurt the tourism sector as they constitute the largest number of foreign tourists in the state.
Sanjeev Kurup, president of Kerala Ayurveda Promotion Society and chairman of Ayurveda Task Force of FICCI Tourism Committee, said the state should invest heavily to woo foreign tourists and high-spending people, so that mass tourism and weekend tourism can be similar. . Seen in Munnar and Fort Kochi did not reduce the carrying capacity of the destinations. They called for the restructuring of the Tourism Advisory Committee, limiting the number of members from the current 108 and holding regular meetings to develop policies and marketing strategies in consultation with hospitality, wellness, travel and allied stakeholders.
Admitting that the foreign and domestic tourist arrivals were less than expected, a highly placed KT official said the state was in dire need of activity-based tourism products in view of the post-pandemic demand for experiential tourism. “This in turn will also attract younger travelers,” he said.