THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to Indians to avoid overseas leisure trips and destination weddings to help conserve foreign exchange has triggered concern among Kerala’s fast growing outbound tourism industry. Tour operators are warning that such statements could dampen the sector, which has seen explosive growth since the pandemic.
According to industry estimates, there are thousands of agencies organising group tours, family vacations, destination weddings and vacations in destinations across Asia, Europe and West Asia to meet the growing demand and preferences of Malayali travellers.
The operators fear that the PM’s remarks would adversely impact the travel and hospitality sector, which is still recovering from back-to-back setbacks caused by the pandemic, geopolitical tensions and uncertainties.
“Tourism did not receive any meaningful support from the Centre even during the pandemic. For us, the current situation feels like a second pandemic,” said Sheik Ismail, president of the Tourism Professionals Club (TPC).
He said that overseas vacations were earlier largely confined to affluent families.
“Today, a five-day package to Thailand, Malaysia, Bali or Vietnam is often cheaper than a domestic trip to Goa, Rajasthan or Maharashtra. With the same budget, travellers get a much better experience abroad,” he added.
Many foreign tourism boards are now carrying out aggressive marketing and conducting roadshows and trade meetings to promote their destinations in Kerala and India.
Before the pandemic, outbound tourism accounted for just 2-5% of leisure travel. But operators now estimate that around 30-50% of travellers from Kerala now prefer overseas destinations to domestic holidays. The industry is demanding measures to make domestic tourism more affordable, to encourage people to holiday within the country.
However, some feel that Modi’s plea to avoid non-essential foreign travel may provide a significant boost to domestic tourism, particularly in Kerala.
“People are unlikely to stop travelling altogether. Instead, many Malayalis are expected to opt for destinations within the state. This trend is already visible, with tourists from northern Kerala increasingly visiting Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kumarakom and Munnar, while travellers from the south are exploring destinations such as Kozhikode and Kannur,” said Jose Pradeep, president of the Kerala Travel Mart Society (KTM).