In an effort to provide succour to the tourism sector battered by the pandemic, the Tourism Department is planning to boost domestic tourism with a focus on increasing the number of local destinations.
At least one tourism destination will be identified in every panchayat for this purpose, Minister for Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas has said. He said meetings were being held with the secretaries of the District Tourism Promotion Council and panchayat presidents.
“The idea of a tourist place is not limited to just beautiful locations. It can be places of historic importance or those showcasing some local culture. Such tourism with a local focus can also help the rural economy in these times. We have completed meetings with the panchayat presidents in Wayanad district. All of them have submitted a list of possible locations in their regions,” said Mr. Riyas.
The Minister said that the tourism sector in the State had sustained huge losses to the tune of ₹34,000 crore due to the pandemic. The sector also had the maximum number of job losses. A decision to reopen tourist centres would be taken as soon as the second wave of COVID-19 abated. An inflow of foreign tourists could not be expected anytime soon in the current scenario. In 2019, as many as 11.89 foreign tourists visited the State. The government aimed to increase this to 25 lakh tourists by 2025. The department would look at attracting more tourists from places from where lesser number of people were coming currently, he said.
He said that round-the-clock tourist facilitation centres would be set up in all airports. Homestays would be promoted and Kudumbashree would be involved in tourism-related activities.
Mr. Riyas rejected the Karnataka government’s allegation that Kerala was planning rename 11 villages in the Kasaragod district. He said that those who published the news themselves should look at whether such a fake narrative was being pushed now with an aim to create communal polarisation in these areas. The alleged letter in his name in this regard could be a forged one, he said.
