Travel curbs imposed following the outbreak of Nipah virus, the devastating August deluge, and the frequent hartals after the Sabarimala controversy badly affected tourism in the State in 2018. Tourist arrivals went up only by 9.35 lakh, registering 5.93% growth.
The tourist footfall to Kerala, including foreign and domestic, during the January-December period in 2018 was 167 lakh. The number of international tourists who visited Kerala was 10,96,407, an increase by 0.42%, compared to the 10,91,870 in 2017, as per the figures released by Kerala Tourism on Thursday.
The anticipated growth rate for foreign tourist arrivals was 12-15% during 2018. The growth rate for the first quarter of the year was 12.13% and for the first four months it was 10.62%. But from May, the growth rate became negative due to Nipah scare. Foreign tourist arrivals showed a negative trend during August, September, October, and till November because of the floods. A positive trend was seen in December. The highest shortfall was registered in Thiruvananthapuram district (mainly to Kovalam and Varkala beaches) with a decrease of about 78,000 foreign tourists.
U.K. on top
The highest footfall was from the U.K. with more than 2 lakh tourists. Negative growth was registered from almost all West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain. From European countries, the trend was positive.
In the case of domestic tourists, the growth was 6.35%, with a footfall of 156 lakh. The growth rate of domestic tourists was around 20% up to May. From then on, it followed the pattern of foreign tourists. In December, a positive growth of 0.45% was registered.
Minister for Tourism Kadakampally Surendran said, “It is significant that the number of tourists almost touched half the State’s total population. This has been achieved despite adverse factors.”
“It was through the hard work of Kerala Tourism, tourism trade, and the coordinated efforts of other departments that the State could achieve this impressive growth,” said Rani George, Secretary, Tourism. “The State will be able to achieve better results this year on the strength of attractive products and new projects,” says Director of Tourism P. Bala Kiran.
