IDUKKI: After the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, tourist centres in Idukki and Munnar evoked a good response on Saturday and Sunday. According to tourism stakeholders, the tourist inflow shows that the sector is getting back to normalcy. But at many tourist centres, most of the visitors are Malayalis, and fewer north Indian and Tamil tourists are arriving at the destinations.
District tourism promotion council (DTPC) secretary Gireesh P S said that all 12 tourist destinations under DTPC witnessed normal tourist arrival on Saturday and Sunday.
Eravikulam National Park Assistant wildlife warden Job J Neriamparambil told TOI that 2,728 tourists visited the park on Sunday. “The park's total capacity is 2,880 per day, and Eravikulam witnessed nearly 97% occupancy on Sunday. On Thiruvonam, 1,760 tourists visited the park. We hope the trend will continue in the coming days,” said the official.
Idukki and Cheruthoni dams, one of the major tourist attractions in the district, under the hydel tourism department of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), witnessed heavy tourist inflow on Sunday.
Sreenivasan, an official with the ticket counter, said that 3,197 tourists enjoyed the scenic beauty of the dams on Sunday. “On Saturday, 1,300 tourists visited the dams,” said the official.
A tourism department official said that the mandatory vaccine certificates for entry to the centres have affected the entry of youth tourists. “Most of the visitors in the tourism centres are between 18 and 25 years. But many youths are yet to receive their first vaccine dose. To enter these destinations, youths need to undergo an RT-PCR test. But as per government order, we can't allow tourists without a vaccine certificate or RT-PCR test result,” said the official.
Jubina, a tourist from Kannur, said that after the pandemic, her family visited Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Thekkady and witnessed that officials followed all Covid-19 guidelines. “After the pandemic, the trip provided a new life to us,” she said, adding the strict adherence to Covid protocols will give confidence to tourists to visit the tiger reserve.
