Babu R. has been associated with the houseboat sector for more than two decades. After initially working as an employee in a vessel, he had bought a houseboat.
The business, he says, was going smoothly until the great deluge of 2018.
“What the 2018 and 2019 floods could not do, has been done by COVID-19. The pandemic has brought the houseboat industry to its knees and upended the lives of people like me,” Mr. Babu says.
The 44-year-old man from Thathampally in Alappuzha has temporarily handed over his boat to a cousin ‘due to irregular houseboat operations’ and is engaged in online fish delivery to make ends meet.
While a number of houseboat owners and employees have migrated to new pastures over the past one-and-a-half years, others who still cling on despite all the hardships are hoping for better days.
The pandemic-hit sector, which is desperate for recovery, is pinning its hope on the Onam festival season.
“In the last 15 months, houseboats had remained anchored for a total of 10 months. Whenever it resumed services after two lockdowns- in October 2020 and earlier this month, the houseboat operations remain a fraction of pre-pandemic times. The sector is aiming for a gradual recovery and this Onam is all about survival. We have announced packages and discounts, but are yet to get the traction we are expecting,” says Kevin Rozario, general secretary, All Kerala Houseboat Owners and Operators Samiti.
Zero arrivals
With ‘almost zero arrivals’ from outside Kerala, the business largely depends on tourists from the Malabar region.
Only around 40% of the registered vessels are currently conducting services as the rest remain unfit after being anchored for several months.
According to M. Malin, secretary, District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), 202 boats conducted services on Saturday, 130 on Sunday and 88 on Monday.
“We are expecting an increase in tourist footfalls during the Onam holidays, which will be a boon to the struggling industry,” says Mr. Malin.
Both doses
Only employees who have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are allowed to operate the boats. Tourists arriving in Alappuzha for backwater cruises should either produce a COVID-19- negative certificate after an RT-PCR test taken not more than 72 hours prior to their visit or a COVID-19 vaccination certificate of at least one dose.
