Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems the bewitching charm of the hill stations in Kerala has not failed to beckon the tourists into its lap. Though there was restricted entry for tourists in most of the tourist destinations across the State for the last two years, an analysis of the 2021 tourist arrival figures prepared by the Tourism Department reveals that hill stations were the most preferred choice of tourists in Kerala during the pandemic period.
It is considered that houseboat tourism is the mainstay and mascot of Kerala tourism. But the analysis of tourist footfall in each segment reveals that hill stations recorded the highest growth than other segments such as backwater tourism or pilgrim tourism during the period. In 2021, Idukki and Wayanad recorded the highest growth of 88.43% and 102.4%, respectively as compared to 2020 in tourist arrivals, while the average State growth was 51.09% during the year as against 2020.
Alappuzha, the global houseboat tourism hub, has seen a growth of 70.56% during 2021 as against 2020. The number of tourists visiting the backwater tourism is relatively less compared to the tourist arrivals in hill stations. For instance, the destination-wise analysis reveals that Munnar received 11.39 lakh tourists in 2019, pre-pandemic time, while the number was just 5.01 lakh in Kumarakom in the same year.
