The ongoing run of the second wave of Covid-19 has an impact on the Kerala tourism prospects of Kerala. Kerala is one of the premier and most demand travel destinations in the country. Already, the pandemic has lessened the travel traffic as compared to the past few years.
Now, during the second wave, Kerala is one of the most affected states in the country. Currently, Kerala itself is registering over 50 per cent fresh Covid-19 cases. However, the second wave of Covid-19 has ruined the chances of enticing travellers with its monsoon charm.
Industry stakeholders are keeping their fingers crossed as the upcoming tourist season is about to approach. Also, the test positivity rate (TPR) continues to rule high. The tourism season starts in Kerala from October to February. During the tourism season, both domestic and international tourists love to visit Kerala. In the month of April and May, domestic tourists plan to spend their summer holidays in Kerala.
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Tourists Arrival
In 2020, the tourist’s arrival was dropped by 73 per cent as compares to last year to only over 53 lakh visitors, of which 94 per cent are domestic tourists says the Kerala Tourism Department. As a result, revenue got dropped down from over Rs 45,000 crore (12 per cent of GDP) in 2019 to Rs 11,000 crore in 2020.
The 2021 beginning has shown slight better than the year 2020, but the figures are yet to be finalized. The normal annual increase in domestic tourist arrivals is nearly 10-12 per cent and that of foreign visitors is 5-7 per cent. In 2019, these figures showed a record rise of 17.8 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively.
In addition to these, the hotel industry struggling to meet expenses and houseboats has only local visitors.
