Kerala - Kochi   

High price stumps foreign tourists

Photo: H. Vibhu

Hurdles galore: Tourists have to wade through dirt to reach the Chinese fishing nets on the Fort Kochi beach. -

KOCHI: The high-price of tourism products, scare created by chikungunya, an erratic and extended monsoon, plus the not-so-good condition of roads have triggered a slump in the arrival of foreign tourists to the State.

Added to this is the attack on a few foreigners in places like Fort Kochi during the New Year celebrations. Though Kerala Tourism officials are unwilling to state the decline, people connected with the tourism industry in different locales are a worried lot.

They are hopeful that they will be able to tide over the crisis as the purchasing power of domestic tourists has increased. Under the ‘Vision-2020’ programme of Kerala Tourism, the State aims at maintaining its status as a high-price, high-quality destination, catering to the high-spending tourist.

The aim is to reduce the number of backpackers and welcome those with a thick purse.

Chairman of the Thekkady Tourism Development Council Mohammed Shaji said that there was a noticeable fall in the number of foreign tourists visiting Thekkady till December 20, as compared to the tourism season last year.

“The Christmas-New Year fortnight brought in some budget guests. There were many vacant rooms in some hotels at Thekkady in the peak season this year, something unthinkable last year. The numerous hartals in the State made matters worse,” he said.

He was hopeful that the season, delayed by the rains, would extend up to February-end.

Poor and inadequate road connectivity between tourist locales and the ineffectiveness of the District Tourism Promotion Councils has added to the problem.

Fort Kochi is another prominent tourist locale that was affected by high pricing and unbearable mosquito menace. This forced many budget travellers to cut down their number of days of stay in the place.

“Often, tourists are in for a shock in Kerala, since India is generally considered as a low-priced destination. Even in metros like Mumbai, one can get budget rooms for as little as Rs.500, but not in most locales of Kerala,” says Anoop Skaria, who owns a popular art café in the heritage town.

Mosquitoes prevent the guests from venturing out after dusk in Fort Kochi, where outdoor eateries and walking around are very popular.

This is apart from the disappearance of the beach due to continuous dredging and the bad times that the operators of Chinese fishing nets are facing.

The high pricing in Kerala has prompted many companies to hold their annual meetings in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, which are relatively cheaper. The air fare too comes low, since chartered flights are arranged to ferry the delegates out of the State.

Chairman of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Cherian Philip blamed the media for creating a scare about chikungunya. Mr. Philip said that all KTDC hotels, including the recently-opened Tamarind hotels, recorded above 95 per cent occupancy in the peak season. George Dominic, executive director of Casino Group of Hotels, attributed the extended monsoon to the tourist season picking up late.

“Many tourist locales need tidying up. There are also problems like inadequate road and air connectivity. But our hotels recorded a growth in arrivals up to December 31.” He attributed the high pricing to the huge demand for Kerala from international travellers.

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