The Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode just as the tourist season kicked in, has cast a shadow on tourist arrivals to Kerala, which was expecting a resounding footfall this year following the lull caused by the deluge and the pandemic.
Apart from providing direct and indirect employment to lakhs of people, the State’s tourism sector helped the State earn approximately ₹40,000 crore each year till the pandemic struck.
Sources in Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) Society said the Nipah outbreak, although confined to a small region in Kozhikode, could well affect tourist arrivals to Kerala, unless proactive confidence-building measures (CBMs) are taken. “Already, many tourism stakeholders are worried at the spate of cancellations and enquiries being made by guests from other States and abroad who had planned trips to the State. A few national conferences slated this month too might be cancelled due to health concerns.”
The KTM Society has requested the government to communicate that the outbreak is a localised one and that rest of the State is safe for travel. This is necessitated because there is the possibility that some might opt for other States or even Sri Lanka whose topography is very similar to Kerala, they added.
“The viral outbreak could be a spoilsport for tourism sector and could even indirectly affect allied sectors,” said Sajeer Padikkal, president of Malabar Tourism Council.
Echoing a similar concern, Jobin J, Akkarakalam, president of Kerala Houseboat Owners Federation, said there have been queries from concerned tourists during the past few days. “Many of them could delay paying booking amount and wait till normality is resumed. Speedy containment measures would help regain the confidence of tourists and stakeholders in the sector – especially those who had restructured their loan repayments in the wake of the pandemic. Houseboat operators who were on the path to recovery had refurbished their vessels and hoped for a good season, mainly since direct flights had resumed,” he said.
We have been getting a flurry of enquiries during the past few days from concerned tourists, wanting to know whether it was safe to travel to Kerala. We assured them that there was no need to worry and that they just had to adhere to precautions like wearing face mask, said sources in India Tourism.
CBMs planned
High-ranking officials of Kerala Tourism said that CBMs will be rolled out in the coming days, to regain the confidence of tourists.
“Luckily, this is not a pandemic-like situation and is a localised one. We are hopeful of bouncing back, as was done post the pandemic. The Deepavali season is many weeks away and we hope the CBMs, measures to improve hygiene and the normal situation in airports (ie, no special health screening) will ensure that the Nipah outbreak does not impact the sector,” they added.
