Kerala witnesses jump in tourist arrivals

KOCHI: Contrary to expectations, number of tourists visiting the state has crossed pre-flood levels, registering an impressive growth rate of 14.81 per cent in the second quarter of the current year, according to media reports.

There was an increase of 639,271 tourists (both domestic and foreign) during April-june this year as compared to the figure during the corresponding period in the previous year.

In the first quarter (January-march), the total number of tourist arrivals was 4, 612,937 as compared to 4, 318,406 during the same period in 2018.

Particularly satisfying for Kerala Tourism was the fact that it bucked the negative trend in foreign tourist arrivals in the atermath of last year’s devastating floods, attracting 182,320 visitors from abroad in the second quarter of the ongoing year, a growth rate of 8.74 per cent as compared to the same period in the previous year.

The number of domestic tourists during the second quarter of 2019 increased to 4,773,739 as compared to the figures of 4,149,122 during the same period a year earlier, clocking a hety 15.05 per cent growth rate.

The total number of arrivals from abroad was 167,666 during April-june 2018.

Minister for Tourism Kadakampally Surendran said the positive growth rate in tourist arrivals was achieved by a string of measures the government undertook swiftly to repair the damage caused by the floods to tourism infrastructure.

“We also launched an aggressive marketing strategy in both domestic and foreign markets to bolster our presence in the highly competitive tourism marketplace. The results are now there for everyone to see,” the minister said.

Of the 14 districts in Kerala, Ernakulam registered the highest increase in footfalls with an increase of 171,000, followed by Idukki with 135,000. The total number of visitors in Ernakulam was 1,070,613 as against 898,784 in the second quarter of 2018 while the figures for Idukki were 527,311 and 391,674, respectively.

Except Kollam and Thrissur, all the other districts showed positive growth rates in tourist arrivals.