: The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) has stepped up safety measures to curb the accident rate in tourism areas prone to natural calamities.
K.V. Francis, DTPC secretary, said here on Thursday that three lightning arrester towers had been constructed at the entrance point, Mottakunnu and the adventure tourism zone in Wagamon.
Each tower had circular radius of 70 metres. The area was grassland without tree cover and hence prone to lightning strike.
Mr. Francis said work on the first Take-a-Break centre in Munnar, which has facilities such as eateries, parking area and modern toilets, would be completed soon.
At Ramakkalmedu, a children’s park and a watch tower would be constructed at a cost of Rs.50 lakh.
The DTPC has taken over the Aralam Hotel owned by the KTDC at Valara.
At the Hillview Park at Cheruthoni, a pedal boat would be made available.
Two more would be rent out to tourists at the Muthirapuzha river in Old Munnar.
There has been an increase in tourist arrivals to Idukki during this season.
Thekkady, Munnar and Wagamon had 2,81,684 visitors in the two-month period of October-November.
Of them, 8,865 were foreign tourists, he said. In the corresponding period last year, total tourist arrivals were 2,42, 004.
Munnar and Thekkady were the most visited destinations by foreigners.
The majority of them come on tourist packages.
Mr. Francis said a notable feature was that Wagamon had emerged as a favourite destination, especially among domestic tourists
He said during the two-month period, 49,794 tourists had visited Wagamon.
Though there was increase in the number of foreign tourists to Munnar, those who visited the Eravikulam National Park, which is the natural habitat of the Nilgiri tahr, had declined.
The high fee charged from them compared to domestic tourists and long queues for tickets were said to be the reason for the drop, he said.
Munnar and Thekkady were the most-visited destinations by foreigners last year.
