KOCHI: For visitors arriving in Fort Kochi, the promise and charm of the heritage destination, which the journey on the water metro helps encapsulate, is immediately shattered by the chaos at the terminal exit. Here, a swarm of autorickshaw drivers are often seen aggressively canvassing tourists.
“We were ambushed,” said Bhaani Ghrehal, a tourist from New Delhi. “They [autorickshaw drivers] shoved brochures in our faces and were constantly after us, touting their makeshift tour packages. This is definitely not what we wanted our first impression of Fort Kochi to be.”
“One part of why people opt for touring the south is because of the respectful nature of people here. And that had been Kerala’s reputation for long. What’s unfolding here is straight out of any of the northern cities,” Bhaani added.
This is a serious concern for local stakeholders, who say these autorickshaw drivers, who are neither certified or trained guides, are undermining the experience.
“Authorised guides, who offer curated experiences of Fort Kochi, are losing jobs because tourists now lump them together with these unruly autorickshaw drivers,” lamented Rajesh K S, secretary of the All Kerala Tour Guides Association.
He also warned that autorickshaw drivers, driven purely by the desire to earn a quick buck, often piece together fragmented or inaccurate narratives, ferrying tourists between a handful of known spots while missing the essence of the place.
“The charm of the region isn’t a checklist of buildings. It is the immersive experience of its culture. This is lost in the rushed and poorly narrated rides,” said Rajesh, who described this trend as out of step with Kerala’s long-held reputation for non-intrusive tourism.
Local residents, too, are irked, as the road in front of the water metro station, intended as a cultural and commercial corridor, has become a den of hawkers. “Many are frustrated by the daily commotion and avoid the area,” said Basheer T, a local resident.
Interestingly, the local police station is barely 300m away. On contacting the station, TNIE learned that officers are often deployed to tackle this menace. “We patrol the road on a daily basis. Though we direct the auto drivers to vacate the metro precincts, they return as soon as we are out of sight,” said an officer.
Another said that this is a direct fallout of the absence of a dedicated force like the tourism police to safeguard tourists and ensure order. “These were precisely their duties. But they now operate under the regular police station and so their duties are now broader.”
When TNIE enquired about the same, a senior tourism police officer said there are 20 tourism police personnel as part of the station. “Many of them are deployed in Mattancherry to cover the Paradesi Synagogue precincts in view of the conflict in West Asia.”
Rajesh maintained that unchecked unruliness, such as what is experienced outside the Fort Kochi water metro station, is what leads to the decline of once-celebrated destinations across the nation.
“Until firm action is taken, the gateway to Fort Kochi, the poster child of Kerala tourism, risks becoming a blemish,” he said.