Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Kerala, 'God's Own Country', is one of the premier tourist destinations in India, with both domestic and international tourists being enticed by the the state's natural beauty.
Howevr, following the Nipah outbreak and two consecutive floods, it is now the COVID-19 pandemic that is posing a grave challenge to the state's tourism sector. COVID-19 which hit India right before the tourist season in Kerala, has adversely affected tourism, the major employment sector and vital to the state's economy.
The state government and private players in the tourism sector were all set to woo tourists with many schemes planned in view of the 2020 tourist season. Come COVID, all the planning to allure tourists from India and abroad went futile, leaving the sector devastated.
The number of foreign tourists reaching Kerala dropped right from when the pandemic hit Wuhan. With the first case of COVID 19 in India being reported from Kerala, there were mass cancellations on hotels and tour packages in the state. With more number of cases being reported from different districts in Kerala, the state government declared COVID a 'state disaster' and prepared itself to check the spread of the new, lethal virus.
As early as March, with the WHO announcing COVID as a pandemic, the inflow of foreign tourists to Kerala ceased completely. With this, about 1.5 million people of Kerala who were dependent on tourism and its allied service sectors were in deep crisis. Soon, the government was forced to impose a lockdown and all travel activities within the country were shut. With this, the arrival of domestic tourists also stopped.
The first blow to the state's economy
The present situation is anticipated to continue until the year 2021. Experts estimate that the tourism sector in the state will incur a loss of about Rs 20,000 crore for the period from March 2020 through to September 2021. The same tourism sector, which had survived the Nipah virus outbreak and the floods earlier and still marked a growth rate of 24.1 per cent in 2019, is now facing a severe crisis in 2020.
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According to the statistics released by the Kerala Tourism Department, 1.96 crore domestic tourists had reached Kerala in 2019. There was a marked increase of 17.81 per cent in terms of the domestic tourists and 8.52 per cent increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting Kerala in 2019. Of the total 1,95,74,004 tourists who had reached Kerala in 2019, 1,83,84,233 were domestic travellers and the rest, 11,89,771 were foreigners.
Ernakulam district tops the chart
The highest returns on the Tourism sector in Kerala during 2019 came from Ernakulam district. The state received revenue of Rs 12,816.54 crore from Ernakulam district alone through tourism. While Rs 8,700.12 crore was generated from Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur district contributed Rs 4,646.08 crore towards the state exchequer.
Idukki district had marked a significant rise after 23 years in 2019 and generated Rs 3,984.4 crore. With confidence and hope based on these factors, Kerala welcomed 2020 with more expectations on a greater turn out from tourism. However, by the end of January, all the calculations were proven wrong.
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The regions, which were imposed with regulations as part of COVID prevention initially, had to be soon shut down completely. Experts analysing the economy opine that the recession that has affected the tourism sector in Kerala is to continue until 2021.
The pandemic has not yet slowed down and goes on affecting millions world over. Considering that factor, the heavy impact of COVID on Kerala's tourism sector has to be evaluated as time goes by.
People dependent on tourism struggling
With the hard blow by the COVID pandemic, the workers and employees relying on the tourism sector for their livelihood, directly or indirectly, have all been undergoing a very deep crisis. Approximately 1.5 million persons are reportedly dependent on tourism in Kerala as their only means of income. With no income and only hope to rely on in the foreseeable future, most of them have gradually started moving away from the tourism field and are doing any job they get, so as to sustain through this tough phase.
Tour operators, hotel owners, tour agents, homestay facility owners, other entrepreneurs, tourist guides, taxi workers, workers and many more relying on the inflow of tourists for their livelihood, and are struggling to sustain, owing to the pandemic outbreak. Most of them had also made investments in tourism with the help of bank loans running into lakhs. This increases the severity of the blow.
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Houseboat owners in Alappuzha, Kumarakom and Kollam regions, where backwater tourism is the highlight, shared their concern and anxiety. Houseboats, including 'Kettu vallam' and 'Pura Vanji' have incurred major losses as the tourists ceased to come.
In Idukki, the crisis is experienced mostly in Munnar Thekkadi regions. All the homestay facilities remain closed. Tour operators, taxi drivers, guides and many employed in the sector have started migrating to other fields in search of income, as the situation got worse.
The workers in Wayanad, who had survived the losses left over by the floods, are also struggling to find a way out of the COVID crisis. The situation is no different in the state's major tourist centres including Kochi, Kozhikode and Kovalam.
The state coordinator, Responsible Tourism Mission, Kerala, has accepted that an estimated loss of Rs 6.15 crore has happened owing to the COVID lockdown in the 18,000 RT units in the state.
State govt still optimistic
Despite the adverse conditions, the state government is hopeful about surviving this crisis as well. The government has been planning to attract domestic and foreign tourists as soon as the grip of COVID pandemic loosens.
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Several plans in pipeline
Namasthe Kerala is a scheme initiated by the Association of Tourism and Trade Organisation of India to attract domestic tourists from Kerala. Under this scheme, the travellers will be offered tourist centres, luxury hotels and houseboats at reasonable rates. The offers would be presented through the site yatra.com. Another programme planned by the State Tourism Department is organising and conducting short trips. This programme aims at promoting the major tourist sites in Kerala.
Packages titled 'Arivu, Anubhangal' (translating into Knowledge, Experiences) are also in the pipeline from the Tourism department. The Responsible Tourism Mission is to design the package model. The package will help tourists closely watch an art form or martial art in Kerala. He or she can also stay back in Kerala and learn the art form or martial art through this project.
The Government of Kerala hopes to rejuvenate and revive the tourism industry in the state as soon as the COVID crisis ends. The department is ready with such projects, assured Kadakampally Surendran, the state Tourism Minister.
