Published on : Saturday, May 12, 2018
The visitor footfall is much less compared to the state’s other hotspots. In order to attract more visitors to the popular destinations of the district, the Tourism Department of Kerala is set to prepare a tourism master plan to boost tourism prospects, as well as serve as a blueprint for Wayanad’s overall development.
According to tourism authorities, the master plan will cater to the needs of the district till 2050. DTPC Secretary B Anand said that there are a lot of issues prevailing in Wayanad. The tourism master plan will address all the issues hindering development in the district. The project is still in its early stage. We have just started its preparation.
So there must be a clear idea of what would be ideal for the district. Similarly, we will be hosting discussions on various subjects and areas. We will incorporate all the ideas garnered through these forum meetings.
According to the data with the department, only there are 8,995 foreign tourists visited the district in 2017. The number of domestic tourists during the period was just about 8.15 lakh. On the other hand, around 4.53 lakh foreign tourists visited Ernakulam and nearby places in the same period. The number of foreign tourists who visited the capital city and places nearby was about 4.20 lakh. There is also a huge gap in the number of domestic tourists.
Over 32 lakh visited Ernakulam and 24 lakh visited Thiruvananthapuram. Anand said the share of the visitors visiting north Kerala on the whole is less compared to other regions of the state. There are many reasons for our negligible visitor count in spite of having much to offer. Connectivity is a major problem. Even if a tourist comes to Wayanad, it is not easy for him to move from one destination to the other.
Tags: DTPC, kerala, Tourism, Wayanad