The tourism sector has requested the Kerala government to allow it to host fully-vaccinated leisure travellers. It has also demanded the restoration of inter-district buses and the lifting of curbs on holiday travel.
The sector’s demands are reportedly high on the agenda of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s COVID-19 review meeting on Monday.
The industry hopes to offset the revenue loss caused by the sharp decline in foreign tourists by aggressively promoting domestic tourism.
An estimated 1.83 crore domestic tourists had holidayed in Kerala compared to 10 lakh foreigners in 2019. The sector has recognised domestic leisure-seekers as a significant piece of the tourism pie.
It has predicted an upsurge in post-second wave domestic tourism that could help the State rapidly surmount the losses caused by the breakdown in international air travel.
The hospitality industry is a significant livelihood provider in Kerala.
An official said Wayanad has already opened up for tourists, and Kottayam and Idukki are on the way. The average test positivity rate in the three districts are below 10%.
The drop in tourists have driven hundreds of tourism and hospital sectors employees to poverty during the second lockdown.
Houseboat owners, motor vehicle employees, hotel workers and other allied service providers have taken a beating. Hundreds of homestays in Kuttanad in Alappuzha, and farm and hill tourism destinations in Idukki and Wayanad, seaside resorts, houseboats, Ayurveda spas had shuttered because of the curbs on inessential travel.
Alappuzha district has also demanded the early restoration of spectacle events such as snake boat races to revive backwater tourism.
The industry has also requested the government for tax breaks, low-interest business revival loans and a moratorium on loan repayment to revitalise the moribund tourism sector.
The pandemic has also hit travel agents and inter-State luxury coach services. Both sectors have given separate petitions to the government.
