THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was a year of misfortunes for the Kerala Tourism Industry, one of the robust and fast-growing sectors in Gods Own Country. The recent August-deluge aggravated the situation for the sector, which was already struggling to survive the Nipah-scare. This comes at a time when the state had hoped for better times after a record turnout in 2017, with over 1.46 crore domestic tourists visiting the state.
The murder of a Latvian national in April, followed by outbreak of the Nipah virus, not only hit tourist arrivals in the state, but also affected export revenue with Middle East countries imposing curbs on vegetable exports from the state.
The August deluge also drastically affected the state economy which not only left a trail of destruction in Kerala, but also kept away over 1.5 lakh domestic and foreign tourists from the state. The state lost over Rs 1,500 crore in August, September and October as tourists kept away. And slowly, now that Kerala is limping back to its original state, the industry is facing uncertainty over the religious controversy at Sabarimala.
First rosy, Now a dismal show
The first quarter of 2018 has painted a rosy picture with foreign and domestic tourist arrival registering a growth of 12.13 per cent and 18.57 per cent, respectively, in the state. The third quarter was a slap to Kerala with the state losing 1.45 lakh domestic footfall compared to the same period last year. There was an overall decline of 3.48 per cent in the total domestic tourist arrival during July, August and September, and 13.55 per cent drop in foreign tourist arrival.
In 2017, the domestic tourist arrival posted an 11.39 per cent rise compared with figures of 1.31 crore in 2016. The foreign tourist arrival had also witnessed an increase of 5.15 per cent with a number of FTA reaching a high of 10.91 lakhs in 2017 against 10.38 lakh posted in 2016. Revenue-wise, the state has netted a record revenue of Rs 33,383 crore in 2017.