The Wayanad Tourism Organisation has urged the government to launch innovative projects to revive the tourism sector in the hill district, an emerging tourism destination in the State, after easing the COVID-19 restrictions.
In a memorandum submitted to Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, the organisation said that tourism had played a significant role in the economy of the district as the sector provided job opportunities to more than 30,000 persons.
Moreover, the industry had contributed more than ₹1,500 crore to the government exchequer over the past three years. But incidents like the spread of the Nipah virus, the floods in 2018 and 2019 and the spread of COVID-19 had hit the industry and cast a cloud over the lives of thousands of workers.
The revival of the destination by launching new projects was the need of the hour to rejuvenate the industry. For this, core changes should be made for the sectors including wildlife, farm, heritage, and cultural and adventure.
They raised demands such as introducing vehicles of international standards at the eco-tourism centres for wildlife safaris and appointment of well-trained guides with safety support systems.
An agri-museum, countrywide exchange programmes for farmers and development of agri sports should be part of development of farm tourism, they said.
They demanded that he multi-crore cable car project across the Thamarassery Ghat Road should be implemented soon and a tourism-based master plan should be drawn up for the comprehensive development of the district. They also called for the construction of an airport in the district for better connectivity and enhance the inflow of tourists.
