THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Caravan Tourism the much-touted project launched in the state to revive the tourism industry which has been facing unprecedented loss following the Covid pandemic has failed miserably to woo investors in Kerala.
The project had received overwhelming response from stakeholders and the tourism industry when it was launched in 2021, but unfortunately, it has not progressed much since. The delay in getting clearances from various departments, including local bodies, irrigation, revenue, fire and pollution, to set up caravan parks at designated locations at unexplored tourist destinations has prompted many investors to back out from the project.
The project’s aim was to give close-to-nature travel experience for visitors by developing caravan parks and specially built tourism caravans for travel, leisure and stay at unexplored destinations where other tourism infrastructure are unavailable.
At present, 9-10 caravans are operated in Kerala by around eight private players. Currently, there is only one small caravan park at Vagamon which is functional. In the initial stage, more than 100 private investors had expressed interest in caravan tourism.
According to a stakeholder, the project continues to be in the initial stages. “The state is yet to have a full-fledged caravan park. Many of these unexplored tourism destinations are located near reservoirs, forest or hilly areas. Unfortunately, the caravan policy of the Kerala government doesn’t mention anything about getting single-window clearance for investing in the project.
We are made to run from pillar to post to get NoCs from various departments and all this has negatively impacted the project. The government should first make an investment-friendly policy and ensure single window clearance for getting approvals. The investors cannot place orders for caravans without parks,” said a stakeholder, who did not want to be named.
Tax cuts planned for caravans, order soon
Joseph Mathew of Vagamon Tea estate, who has been in the industry for the past 50 years, said the demand for caravans in the state is yet to pick up. “Caravans are very expensive and only high-end clients are able to spend on them. I want to invest in caravans, but I postponed the plan as it’s too early to say anything. I haven’t got calls from the tour operators asking for caravans.
My plan is to set up the caravan park inside my plantation, but there is no access road to the plantation. I feel camper vans would be more affordable,” he said. In an effort to woo investors, the tourism department is planning to introduce tax concessions for caravans.
The department may also set up infrastructure for parking caravans at KTDC-owned facilities across the state. “When we launched the project, more than 100 private parties had expressed interest, but the hassles involved in implementing the project unfortunately came as a huge turnoff for many. Many of them postponed or dropped their plans.
The tourism minister has taken up the issue and efforts are already on to resolve the issues relating to caravan tourism,” said a senior official with the department. “An order giving tax concessions to tourism caravans will come out soon. We also plan to set up facilities at our KTDC properties for parking caravans. Hope all these measures would attract more investors,”said the official.