Kerala all set for bountiful tourism season

As the God's own country has geared up for a new tourism season, various sources of the tourism industry are of the opinion that the season would be fairly good.

But the tourism department of Kerala is rather bullish on the new season since the flow of foreign tourists is marginally higher, especially at Kovalam.

During last season 3.43 lakh tourists from abroad had visited Kerala and domestic tourists inflow was to the tune of 59 lakh. Ashok Kumar Singh, additional director, department of tourism told Business Standard that the initial response from the industry was promising as charted flights are on the increase this time.

Interestingly, almost all the hotels of Kerala have been reserved for the entire season and high-end hotels are fully booked till the end of February 2006.

E M Najeeb, chairman, Great India Tour Company and a leading tour operator of Kerala said that according to initial response from the industry there is no growth in the inflow of tourists as expected earlier, but is maintaining the same level as in last season.

He said that the industry expected a good season this time as more charted flights had confirmed their visit to Kerala. Two flights from London on a weekly basis have started coming to Thiruvananthapuram since the beginning of November. He said that chartered flights from Russia would come by the end of January 2006.

Mahan Airlines of Iran has agreed to introduce chartered flights to Kochi this season itself. The government is focussing on tourism sector now since it contributes almost Rs 6,000 crore to the GDP of the state every year.

According to Ashok Kumar Singh this would come to 6.5 per cent of the GDP of Kerala and the foreign exchange earning was to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore during last season. But the major threat to the tourism industry of Kerala is the escalating expenses, said E M Najeeb.

He said that there is a general feeling among foreign tourists that average cost of hotels and other expense are high in Kerala compared to Sri Lanka and Malaysia. This forces foreign tourists to evade Kerala and they prefer either Colombo or Goa.

He said that the hike in hotel tariff in Kerala during November-February is rather unaffordable to average tourists both domestic and foreign.

Fairly high domestic air charges to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram is also a serious issue of tourism industry of the state. A tourist has to spend almost double amount to travel from Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram than his travel to India from any of the location in the Gulf region.

The general feeling that Kerala is an expensive tourist destination would hit the industry very badly in future, he said. Hotels for middle class and paying guest system have not been properly developed in Kerala though it has a reputation in the tourism industry of India for quite a long time.

Though the government is spending around Rs 105 crore for the development of tourism industry most of the tourism centres are devoid of basic infrastructure including drinking water and toilet facility.

As Kerala is lagging behind in affordable hotel tariff and better transportation facility it can not fully exploit the scenic beauty and tranquility of the various tourist centres. But Kerala is looking forward to a good tourism season this time also.