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The Hindu
23-06-2025
- The Hindu
U.S. travel advisory leaves Kerala's tourism sector uneasy
Kerala Tourism, which is struggling to return to the growth track in the post-pandemic era, will be impacted by the travel advisory issued by the U.S. asking its citizens to exercise increased caution while travelling to India. Tourism in the State heavily relies on the U.S. and the U.K. markets to meet its annual foreign footfall. The travel advisory issued on June 18 stated that rape is one of the fastest-growing crimes in India. Violent crime, including sexual assault, happen at tourist sites and other locations, it says. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning. They target tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, and government facilities. Stating that the U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to its citizens in the rural areas in India, it has asked its citizens to avoid the stretch comprising eastern Maharashtra, northern Telangana, and western West Bengal, where Naxalite groups are active, Jammu and Kashmir, and the northeastern States. The advisory does not mention Kerala specifically. Need for permission As per the advisory, U.S. government employees working in India are also required to obtain permission prior to travelling to most areas in the States such as Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Odisha. According to tourism industry stakeholders, the U.S. travel advisory is taken seriously by the tourists globally. An average foreign tourist will not try to check whether Kerala is excluded from the list. They simply drop the country from their itinerary in such a situation, said E.M. Najeeb, senior vice-president, Indian Association of Tour Operators. . According to Kerala Tourism figures, the U.K. is the biggest market for Kerala Tourism with British tourists accounting for 14.55% of the total foreign tourists who visited Kerala in 2024, followed by the US with 13.33%. Of the around 7.38 lakh foreign tourist visits in Kerala in the previous year, 2.05 lakh were from these two countries. Moreover, the travel advisory issued by the U.S. will influence tourists from European countries, James Kodianthara, chairperson of the Kerala chapter of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO). West Asia crisis The foreign tourist season in Kerala begins by November and lasts till March, and the booking for the season normally begins shortly after the closure of an ongoing season and gains pace in June, July, and August. Already, the deepening economic and geopolitical challenges in West Asia are set to pose a serious challenge to the tourism markets here, as the majority of the tourists from Europe and the U.S. have to travel through the transit hubs in the strife-torn West Asia to reach here. The Union government should urgently reach out to the U.S. administration or take measures to counter the adverse effect of the advisory, said Mr. Kodianthara.
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Kerala boasts highest number of star hotels in country
Though Kerala is ranked well below many north Indian States in terms of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) and foreign tourist visits, the tiny south Indian State continues to rank top in the country in terms of the highest number of classified five star, four star and three star hotels. According to the number of five, four and three star hotels classified since 2019 by the Ministry of Tourism, Kerala has 94 five star, 420 four star and 601 three star hotels, well ahead of Maharashtra, Delhi and other States with metro cities. Maharashtra, which comes second, has 86 five star, 36 four star and 69 three star hotels. The hotels are given a rating, from one to three; four and five star with or without alcohol; and five star deluxe through the NIDHI+ portal of the Ministry of Tourism. 95.2 lakh foreign tourists According to the ministry, 95.2 lakh foreign tourists reached the country in 2023. Maharashtra had the highest number of foreign tourist visits at 33.87 lakh, followed by Gujarat (28.06 lakh), West Bengal (27.06 lakh), and Delhi (18.28 lakh) whereas Kerala had witnessed only 6.49 lakh foreign tourist visits during the year. The reasons According to E.M. Najeeb, senior vice-president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), though Kerala is a popular tourist destination in the country, there is no direct connection between tourist arrivals and star hotels in the State. At first, the excise policy of the State during the United Democratic Front (UDF) restricted bar licence to only five-star hotels. Subsequently, a lot of three-star and four-star hotels upgraded themselves to five-star status to get the bar licence. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government that succeeded the UDF allowed the opening of bars in three-star and four-star hotels. This policy decision had played a pivotal role in the increase in the number of classified star hotels in Kerala, said Mr. Najeeb. The high NRI remittance received in Kerala had resulted in many expat entrepreneurs investing in the hospitality sector, said James Kodianthara, Chief Executive Office of Concord Exotic Voyages, one of the leading inbound tour operators in the country. Around 30 years ago, there were only a few five star hotels in Kerala. The aggressive promotion of Kerala as a popular tourist destination across the country and on international platforms also helped attract investments to the hospitality industry in the State, said Shilendran Mohan, vice-president (Sales), CGH Earth Hotels.
