Total Holiday Destination

Putting the pandemic-triggered crisis behind, tourism activities in Kerala are back in full swing as India’s total experiential holiday destination.

Visitors have started thronging all tourist centres in the length and breadth of the State. The stakeholders have quickly reconfigured their products and services to meet the demands and preferences of the post-COVID world.

Added to our core assets are a slew of new products like the Caravan Tourism initiative, Keravan Kerala.

Also, the State has hit a new strategy of unveiling the whole state before the world. Every little hamlet has some pleasant surprise for visitors, who are keen to explore the unexplored.

Caravan Tourism is an upfront initiative, which has elicited a keen response from the industry within a short span of its launch. This mode of vacation will offer the visitors a customised experience by facilitating their travel through a circuit of their choice in any part of the State.

They can stay close to nature, move leisurely in a healthy ambience and enjoy the local flavours in all their diversity before heading back home with enduring memories.

Over the decades, much of our tourism has centred around a few select locations, such as backwater hubs, hill stations and seafront locales. These destinations continue to be our core strength. At the same time, we are also making a strategic shift towards extending tourism to the entire Kerala. Local communities and civic institutions are key partners in this endeavour, along with a slew of tourism enterprises. Our globally-acclaimed Responsible Tourism initiative has a central role in this unique initiative. The Tourism Department will be there as a facilitator and regulator to see that all activities are environmentally and culturally sustainable.

Kerala is one of the few places in the world where tourists can plan a hybrid mode of holidaying. We are a small but well-connected state where tourists can reach a backwater hub like Alappuzha to high-altitude Munnar within hours. Considering its huge potential, Kerala is eminently qualified as a long-stay destination for all sorts of holidaymakers. Another distinguishing feature of Kerala is that it is an advanced society where tourists from any part of the world can have a great time.

Now, the big challenge before us is to effectively tell the world that here is a safe and secure place, famed for its panoramic settings, eclectic milieu and tourist-friendly culture. The Tourism Department has drawn up a complete information and marketing campaign to bring both domestic and foreign tourists to the state all through the year. The Department, in partnership with the stakeholders, has embarked on a 360-degree campaign for the revival of tourism. Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas is directly monitoring the progress of the campaign. Kerala Tourism has resumed the roadshows in India and abroad as part of the direct messaging exercise.

Kerala is one of the few places in the world where tourists can plan a hybrid mode of holidaying. We are a small but well-connected state where tourists can reach a backwater hub like Alappuzha to high-altitude Munnar within hours.

Already roadshows in Madrid and Milan and Partnership Meets in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have been organised with many more in other key cities on the anvil in the coming months. This high-voltage campaign has also leveraged all available digital platforms. Kerala has also made a mark in major post-pandemic tourism fairs by participating in international travel trade events like BIT Milan. The state was also showcased at the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) in Tel Aviv. We have also stepped up the marketing drive to attract domestic tourists from all parts of India. The State, at the initiative of the Tourism Minister, has initiated a dialogue with Abu Dhabi to work together for the promotion of tourism. A high-level delegation from the emirate will be visiting Kerala soon for further deliberations to take the partnership forward.

Tourist Statistics

Through the promotional activities, we have also informed the world about a variety of new themes like Change of Air, Long Stays, Homestays, Drive Holidays, Honeymoon holidays, work actions, adventure tourism, festivals and cultural events, which will keep visitors engaged through all seasons. Kerala Tourism has always demonstrated its resilience. We have quickly recovered from the devastating floods that hit the state in 2018 and 2019. True, the Covid-19 pandemic has been the severest blow suffered by tourism the world over. But it is a fact that Kerala Tourism was not completely down in the dumps. Our statistics vouch for that.

Over the decades, Kerala has emerged as a global tourism brand. Our success is largely due to the robust public-private partnership of the ecosystem. It was in acknowledgement of the key role of private enterprises that the government came out with a couple of handholding schemes for the entrepreneurs and service providers to revive their activities. During the pandemic, most of the classified homestays in Kerala remained shut. Now, they are back in business. So are other hospitality services like tour operators, hotels and resorts and other ancillary units.