The Budget presented by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Monday to a certain extent, failed to live up to the expectations of the tourism sector, which has been making a strong comeback after being hit by the pandemic and two back-to-back floods in the pre-COVID-19 period.
The total outlay to the sector has now come down to ₹351.42 crore for fiscal 2024-25, while the last two Budgets had earmarked a sum of ₹362.15 crore, respectively.
The shortfall in the Budget outlay was also reflected in the reduced allocation for tourism marketing. If the last two Budgets had earmarked a sum of ₹81 crore, respectively, for tourism marketing, this time the Budget share for marketing has come down to ₹78.17 crore.
Though domestic tourism has made a comeback after the pandemic, foreign tourist arrivals are yet to pick up momentum, and the industry was looking for enhanced allocation for unleashing a campaign blitzkrieg by Kerala tourism on the global tourism platforms.
Further, the State had been branding the Champions Boat League as a premium product on global platforms with the objective of transforming ‘Vallamkali’ (Snake boat races) into a world-class sporting event. If the opening edition of the event was provided with a sum of ₹25 crore, now the allocation has been reduced to a trickle of ₹9.96 crore for the next fiscal.
There was no major allocation for the Destination Challenge, a flagship project conceived by Kerala tourism recently with the aim of developing at least a tourism destination in a local body and reducing pressure on existing destinations.
Relief
On the other hand, the Budget has made allocations for improving the standard of tourism facilities (₹136 crore), heritage, culture and environment tourism (₹24 crore), Responsible Tourism (₹15 crore) subsidies and incentives (₹15 crore) Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (₹12 crore), skilling and professional quality improvement (₹17.5 crore), eco-tourism (₹1.90 crore), giving a relief to the sector.
An additional allocation of ₹14 crore has been made for Muziris Heritage Project and ₹2 crore for Thenmala Eco-Tourism Project. The Budget also made a provision of ₹20 crore for 24 guest houses, four Yatri Nivases and two Kerala Houses.
Further, the proposal to consider a low-interest loan scheme in collaboration with Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) to scale up tourism infrastructure, anticipating an investment of ₹5,000 crores is expected to expedite growth in the coming years. This envisages the creation of an additional 10,000 hotel rooms in three years and world-class convention centres to meet future demand.
An amount of ₹5 crore is earmarked as financial assistance for setting up a magnificent laser light and sound show by using the outer surface of the Idukki dam.
Authority mooted
The State Budget has announced plans to float a Kerala Forest Ecotourism Development Authority to leverage the potential of ecotourism centres in the State.
The government will also promote sandalwood cultivation and provide assistance to conserve the plant species. The existing laws and rules will be amended for the purpose.
Moreover, forest depots will be converted into sandalwood collection centres to gather sandalwood trees that are felled from private land. A revolving fund will also be introduced to meet 50% of the value of sandalwood as assessed by the government as advance to the owners.
Safari park
A full-fledged safari park will be established at Nadukani in Taliparamba, Kannur. The government has identified 300 acres of land for the park, that will include a museum, zoo, and biodiversity park. This will be developed as a joint venture of public, cooperative and private sectors. As per the initial estimate, an investment of ₹300 crore is required for this project. An initial allocation of ₹2 crore has been made in the Budget.
A tiger safari park will also be setup on 120 hectares of land at Muthukad in Kozhikode. Both projects are expected to boost the tourist prospects of north Kerala.
An amount of ₹6 crore has been earmarked for the zoological park that has been established at Puthur in Thrissur.
