Kochi: With Kochi airport suspending operations for nearly a fortnight and several tourists cancelling their trips to the state following the humongous floods, Kerala
Tourism has estimated a loss of Rs 500 crore in revenue from August 8 till month end.
P Bala Kiran, tourism director, said the infrastructure loss was estimated at around Rs 100 crore. However, the sector has been on the path of recovery, in terms of infra, and would be equipped soon to welcome tourists.
But many stakeholders are worried about the business in the months to come. Sivadathan M P, director of Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society (HATS), said industry stakeholders were not able to generate any income in the past four to five months, courtesy Nipah scare, the initial floods in Kottayam and Alappuzha and then the catastrophic floods and rain-induced landslips and landslides in August. “
We were all expecting to make up for our losses during the Neelakurinji blooming season, but that did not materialise,” he said.
Several homestay facilities have been destroyed in the calamity. Many accommodation facilities lost their furniture and appliances to the floods. “Even in areas unaffected by the floods, where homestay facilities still intact, people have cancelled their bookings till December. The government should take up a strong campaign to revive the sector,” he said.
Bala Kiran said the tourism sector has to outperform during the winter season to recover from the severe setback it sustained.
“We have already started our social media campaign. We will start our main campaigns once the residents return to normalcy,” said Bala Kiran.
