Major blow to tourism in Idukki

Hotels, homestays in Munnar, Wagamon, Thekkady shut shop

A view of the Mattupetty dam in Munnar on Wednesday.

The tourism destinations in the district wore a deserted look after a U.K. citizen staying at a Kerala Tourism Development Corporation hotel in Munnar was diagnosed with COVID-19. The hotel has been temporarily closed.

As news spread, local people began to keep indoors. The Mattupetty boat landing station was deserted after the District Collector restricted tourism activities. Tourism sector stakeholders said the industry was just about returning to normalcy after the floods in 2018 and 2019 when this infection struck. “This time the industry has come to a standstill. The industry is co-operating with the government initiative to block the infection. It is a situation when the stakeholders themselves came forward to stop booking,” said a member of the Munnar Hotel and Resorts Association.

Last year’s case

“The hoteliers here could not benefit from the last winter season as the usual frost was missing from the hills. This year, COVID-19 has struck a ruthless blow,” he added.

The main tourism destinations are Munnar, Thekkady, Wagamon, Ramakkalmedu, Panchalimedu, Marayur, and Idukki-Cheruthoni dam. The homestays and the resorts in Munnar, Wagamon, and Thekkady were shut down after the district administration issued an advisory.

Staff on long leave

Some hotels and tourism-related business too were closed and the staff were asked to go on long leave.

Thousands of people depend on the tourism industry in the district. District Tourism Promotion Council secretary Jayan P. Vijayan said the inflow of foreign visitors was expected to come down by 15%. Last year, the figure had posted an increase of 17%. He said the impact of COVID-19 was universal and slowly the tourism sector would come out of the crisis.