KALPETTA: While Wayanad with its mystical green hills and peaceful ambience has immense potential to attract tourists, the visitor footfall is much less compared to the state's other hotspots. In order to attract more visitors to the popular destinations of the district, the Tourism Department is set to prepare a tourism master plan to boost tourism prospects, as well as serve as a blueprint for Wayanad's overall development.
According to tourism authorities, the master plan will cater to the needs of the district till 2050. “There are a lot of issues prevailing in Wayanad," said DTPC Secretary B Anand. "The tourism master plan will address all the issues hindering development in the district. The project is still in its early stage. We have just started its preparation.
We will consider the minutest detail while preparing the project.” As the first step, the department will host several rounds of discussion forums which will be attended by people from different walks of life. “We will soon be hosting a discussion forum on investments. Due to its peculiar conditions, all sorts of investments are not likely to come to Wayanad.
So there must be a clear idea of what would be ideal for the district. Similarly, we will be hosting discussions on various subjects and areas. We will incorporate all the ideas garnered through these forum meetings,” he added.
According to the data with the department, only 8,995 foreign tourists visited the district in 2017. The number of domestic tourists during the period was just about 8.15 lakh. On the other hand, around 4.53 lakh foreign tourists visited Ernakulam and nearby places in the same period. The number of foreign tourists who visited the capital city and places nearby was about 4.20 lakh. There is also a huge gap in the number of domestic tourists.
Over 32 lakh visited Ernakulam and 24 lakh visited Thiruvananthapuram. Anand said the share of the visitors visiting north Kerala on the whole is less compared to other regions of the state. “There are many reasons for our negligible visitor count in spite of having much to offer. Connectivity is a major problem. Even if a tourist comes to Wayanad, it is not easy for him to move from one destination to the other.
All these issues must be addressed to increase the footfall in the region,” he said. But he said this is set to change. “The coming up of an airport in Kannur will bring in more scope and possibilities.
A slew of projects is progressing here at Wayanad. Developmental activities are on the go. We will attract more visitors in the coming years,” he said.