Kerala Tourism will soon issue an advisory intimating tourists that the State is safe for holidaying in the wake of an alert sounded by the Health Department following the confirmation of incidence of Nipah (NiV) virus infection in Kozhikode.
“We have received the alert from the Department of Health following confirmation of the samples tested at the laboratories confirming NiV. We are going through it and will soon issue an advisory to the tourists,” Director of Tourism P. BalaKiran told The Hindu .
Kerala Tourism’s intervention is in order to prevent panic among holidayers who have already booked tickets to the State and made reservations in hotels and resorts.
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Already the detection of NiV has appeared in the tweets of Twitter Moments Canada, U.K and Ireland. Leading news agencies, including foreign and websites, have put out stories from Delhi based on the alert sounded by the Health Department citing that there is no vaccination for the Nipah virus.
Stakeholders of the tourism industry are keeping a close watch on the scenario as the monsoon season is just weeks away.
Hundreds are expected to fly down for Ayurvedic therapy and yoga in the next three months. Apprehensions prevail whether the State government’s initiative to attract tourists to north Kerala will also be hit with the detection of NiV.
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E.M. Najeeb, president, Confederation of Tourism Industry Kerala, said the government should step in and take urgent measures to contain the spread of NiV as it would affect tourism prospects badly.
The incidence of NiV infection has come at a time when the State has been able to wriggle out of the negative image caused to it after the murder of a Latvian tourist near Kovalam. It has taken a series of steps, including steps to enhance the safety and security of tourists.