THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The August floods had dealt a hard blow to the tourism sector this year. Several tourists, both domestic and international, cancelled the bookings they had made to visit different destinations in Kerala. Now slowly the tourism sector can hope of regaining its original glory. The city’s first set of tourists from Japan visited Thiruvananthapuram a few days ago, a precursor to the upcoming tourism season which is all set to begin in October.
Tour operators said that the group of 13 Japanese had initial doubts whether the state was safe to travel post the floods. The various information being circulated on social media added to their fears and the visitors had even thought of cancelling the tour.
Facing the worst
Many tourists who had made bookings even six months back cancelled their bookings at the last moment adding to the woes of tourist guides and resort owners. “ I have been a travel guide for more than 15 years but this is the first time I came across a situation where mass bookings had to be cancelled. About 18 bookings were cancelled. Now that these tourists have arrived, we are hoping that things will steer back to normal and people will understand that Kerala is safe for tourists now, “ said Saji Nanukuttan, managing director of Shiva’s Tours and Travels, Kovalam.
The Japanese tourists travelled in and around Thiruvananthapuram and Kovalam for ten days. The itinerary included the Ayurveda treatment, village tour, yoga and also learning about the food and culture of Kerala. “When this group came, they had many questions in their mind. They were afraid of contracting diseases so they cancelled all the water sport activities. I somehow managed to convince them and now that they have visited, they are happy everything turned out fine. They even promised me that they will return back again after six months and bring other people to show that Kerala is back to its original state,” he said.
The government has also planned an array of activities which will be help in bringing back the tourism industry back to its previous glory. “The tourism sector had to face lot of problems after the devastating flood. Now, it has bounced back into business with the tourism season all set to start from October and even some visitors have started arriving in Kerala. The Travel Mart event conducted by the Government will be held in Kochi thereby opening new opportunities for the tourism industry to revive its glory,” said M Vijayakumar, chairman of KTDC. They have also come out with an action plan to tide over the cancellation of bookings and postponement of visits after the floods.
Regaining vigour
The government has also planned an array of activities which will help in bringing back the tourism industry to its previous glory. The KTDC has come out with an action plan to tide over the cancellation of bookings and postponement of visits