The meteoric rise of Lankan tourism from the ashes of the economic downturn and civil unrest a year ago now serves as a wake-up call for Kerala, two major foreign tourist destinations in South Asia. Sri Lanka is considered a major competitor to Kerala with both destinations blessed with panoramic landscapes, beaches, wildlife, verdant leaf-cloaked hills, relatively similar cuisine, and similar weather.
However, there has been a growing preference for Colombo by international tourists over Kerala of late, despite the State having beautiful backwaters and being considered a cradle of Ayurveda, for which there are no real equivalents in Sri Lanka.
Foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka and Kerala were 6.54 lakh and 6.59 lakh respectively in 2010, hardly a year after the civil war came to an end in the island nation. The next decade was very crucial for Sri Lanka with Colombo literally outpacing Kerala in absolute numbers in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. The tourist arrivals at one point touched 23.33 lakh in 2018.
Highest in 2019
On the other hand, Kerala tourism clocked 11.89 lakh in 2019, the highest ever number clocked by the State. However, things went into a tailspin again after the Easter Day bombing in Colombo in 2019, which was followed by the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent financial turmoil in Sri Lanka.
The arrival of foreigners in Lanka started declining to 7.19 lakh in 2022. Kerala was then poised to get a share of foreigners looking for budget destinations in Lanka as it was the immediate choice near Colombo.
Strong comeback
However, taking competitors by surprise, Lankan tourism made a strong comeback in 2023 with foreign tourist arrivals touching a whopping 14.87 lakh in the just concluded season in 2023, whereas Kerala could register only an arrival of 6.49 lakh in 2023, which is still short of its 2010 arrivals.
Kerala Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas attributed the deepening conflict in some parts of the globe to the slow recovery of international tourism in Kerala after the pandemic, but Colombo could make a strong comeback riding high on the foreigners’ preference for the island nation over Kerala, despite the reports of power cuts, fuel shortages, and anti-government protests there.
Interestingly, Indians account for the lion’s share of foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka followed by Russians and those from the U.K.
Speaking to The Hindu, Jaison Panikulangara, director of SAJ House Boat Builders and Operators, who invested in the houseboat tourism industry in Colombo, said that be it Galle Fort in Lanka or Fort Kochi in Kerala, the tourist experience is almost the same with the fascinating destinations providing a peep into the colonial influence and ancient history of the cities when digging a little deeper. Although the beach experience in Lanka is more remarkable than in Kerala, said Mr. Panikulangara.
“What makes Lanka far more attractive to foreigners is its direct flight connectivity to the world. Further, the Sri Lankan government gives utmost priority to tourism as an industry whereas Kerala is yet to realise its importance,” said E. M. Najeeb, senior vice-president, Indian Association of Tour Operators.
Further, the State should give due focus to its unique products, like Ayurveda, while holding promotional campaigns across the world, he added.
