THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Indian expats who have been planning to visit the home country to be with their families for Christmas will be hit hard with the emergence of the new variant of COVID virus, Omicron, in South Africa. The expats are now forced to reschedule their travel fearing that they might be stuck here if West Asian countries close their borders in the event of further spread.
In addition, the prospects of foreign tourists arriving in Kerala would also be slim if the Omicron infection spreads. Kerala has strengthened screening and testing of all international travellers coming from or transiting through South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Singapore, Zimbabwe, and Israel at its four airports.
A senior Air India officer said, "A majority of Kerala expats are based in West Asian countries. So far, no air traffic regulation has been announced in those countries. We cannot assure travellers that the air traffic will not be affected."
Kerala-headquartered Air India Express has almost regained 80% of its traffic after the GCC countries lifted regulations enforced following the second wave.
"Although no traffic curbs have been announced, we are anticipating a drop in passenger traffic to India from GCC countries in December as expats are likely to avoid travelling anticipating traffic regulations in the event of detecting more cases of Omicron infection," said an Air India Express officer.
KV Dhanu, a private company staffer in Dubai, said he was planning to come down to Kerala by December 1 for post-COVIDd treatment. "I have applied for a 10-day leave for treatment purposes. But now, I am doubtful if I will be able to get back here on time," he said.
So is the case with expats who plan to come to Kerala for Christmas vacation. Normally, the expats travel to Kerala during Christmas vacation and fly back after New Year. Now it's almost certain that the passenger movement would be affected severely as quarantine is mandated for passengers, said a private airline officer.
The emergence of the new COVID variant will also be a dampener for Kerala Tourism which has started an international campaign to woo foreign tourists.
Earlier this month, Kerala had made an impressive presence at the three-day World Travel Market (WTM) 2021 in London sending out a strong message that the tourism sector here is on the path of recovery from the prolonged pandemic-triggered lull. The UK is the biggest source market for Kerala Tourism over the years.