The Kerala Government has set up a revolving fund to provide interest-free loans up to ₹10,000 to those employed in a wide range of activities in the tourism sector without any collateral security, under plans to revive the pandemic-hit industry that provides jobs to thousands.

The revolving fund will have an initial corpus of ₹10 crore, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas said. “This fund comes when the tourism sector is poised for the post-pandemic surge. All those who are working in this vital sector can avail themselves of the benefit of the scheme to revive their activities,” the Minister said.

Those who are employed in activities related to tourism industry with membership in any registered tourism organisation will be eligible for the loan. Those engaged in units registered under the Responsible Tourism (RT) mission are also entitled to apply for the loan.

The assistance will be available to those working for tour operators; travel agencies; tourist taxi operators; houseboats and shikara boat operators; hotels; resorts; restaurants; serviced villas; tourist farms; Ayurveda centres; adventure tourism ventures; micro units under the Responsible Tourism mission; performing and martial arts troupes; and tour guides holding licence of India Tourism or Kerala Tourism.

The beneficiary will have to repay the loan within two years after the one-year moratorium period. The scheme will be implemented through the RT mission. The application has to be submitted online, for which a digital platform will be set up soon.

A panel with Tourism Director as chairman and RT mission coordinator as convener has been formed to screen the applications and sanction loans.