THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A solo female tourist from New Zealand had to stop her Kerala sojourn midway and return with bitterness after her valuables, including cash and credit cards, were stolen while staying at a four-star resort near Poovar.
Jeanice Govind, who arrived at Poovar on April 1 for a 21-day prepaid ayurveda treatment, returned on April 10 after accusing the management of Isola Di Cocco for not showing accountability as the theft occurred from a locked resort room. She also alleged that the local police gave a lukewarm response to her complaint.
Jeanice said cash to the tune of Rs 1 lakh, credit cards, jewellery, and her passport went stolen from inside her locked suitcase while she went for dinner at the restaurant on April 5. The handbag and passport were later recovered from an overgrown section of the resort grounds, while the cards and cash remained missing.
She said the Pozhiyoor police initially did not take up the case seriously citing assembly election duty and other activities.
The Pozhiyoor police rejected the allegation and said they had arrested a staff of the resort on the charges of theft and he has been remanded in judicial custody.
Jeanice said she requested a refund for unused accommodation and pre-booked treatments, compensation for the stolen property and the disruption caused to her travel plans, and urgent financial assistance given that her access to funds had been cut off by the theft.
“The management declined all requests. The resort insisted on full payment for the period from April 1 to April 10, regardless of whether services were used or not,” she added.
Jeanice said the whole episode took a toll on her health and she won’t be coming to Kerala ever. “I am worried by the attitude of the resort management. The theft occurred on their premises, but instead of trying to comfort the victim, they tried to move on as if nothing happened. They have not even refunded my package.
The tourism department and other regulators should understand that Kerala’s tourism industry works on its reputation as a safe and welcoming destination for international visitors,” she said.
Vishnu Janardhanan, operations manager of the resort, said they provided all possible assistance to Jeanice. “We said we will refund for the treatments and services she has not received. That would be made through the travel agent. We also offered to provide her alternative accommodation in our other facilities.
But she insisted that she be provided air tickets to Dehradun and accommodation there. We did not entertain that demand,” he said. Vishnu added that the resort, during peak season, exclusively caters to foreigners and it was for the first time such a scenario came up.