The southern Indian state of Kerala, often referred to as God’s Own Country, is actively pursuing various initiatives to regain momentum in international tourist arrivals which are yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.
Besides key source markets like Europe and North American markets, the state is now looking to engage the South-east Asian market through roadshows.
“We have done a roadshow in Malaysia and plan to organise more in other markets including Thailand and Vietnam. Last year, we organised our roadshow in Australia too, and are seeing an increase in tourist arrival numbers from there,” said Sikha Surendran, director, Kerala Tourism.
Renowned for its serene backwaters, pristine beaches, lush hill stations, Ayurveda and houseboat experiences, Kerala is now also promoting new tourism segments such as helicopter tourism, adventure tourism, and caravan tourism to attract more international visitors.
“Under the public-private partnership model, we are facilitating private operators in establishing heliports in key destinations to promote helicopter tourism. We are also setting up caravan parks in destinations like Palakkad and Munnar with private players. A host of events are lined up to promote Kerala as a destination for adventure tourism,” Surendran detailed.
Among the adventure sporting events scheduled for 2025 are MTB Kerala, Chaliyar River Paddle, and Tour of Thekkady. These are expected to further positioning Kerala as an adventure tourism hub.
Kerala welcomed approximately 1.2 million international tourists in 2019, but the number slipped to 650,000 in 2023.
However, the tide is turning. Tourism stakeholders report positive trends in international arrivals.
Anoop Peter, general manager, The Fern Kochi, told TTG Asia that there has been “strong demand” from Middle Eastern markets including Saudi Arabia and Dubai, as well as from Russia and European countries like the UK and Germany.
In fact, demand is so strong that we have international bookings extending until 2027,” he added.
