COVID-19 impact: Uncertainty looms over Kerala tourism industry

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is the month of May, the peak season for tourism industry which sees hundreds of travellers flocking to popular destinations. The Lighthouse, beaches, museum and its palaces make the city a coveted destination for tourists. However, with the world in the grip of a global pandemic and the resultant lockdown in the country, this season paints a bleak picture. Hotels, resorts, lodges and tour operators are staring at an uncertain future with little or no business for months. 

Hotels and resorts that dot the main beaches are deserted. Even as the industry was recovering from the dip in footfall following the 2018 flood and the Nipah virus scare, it has collapsed again with the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the lockdown was announced, almost all hotels, travel agencies and handicraft shops run by Kashmiris on the Lighthouse beach have been shut down.

Raja Gopaal Iyer of Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel & Spa said that March, April and May usually see a surge in weddings, conferences and other occasions. “With all events cancelled or postponed, we are recording zero occupancy this season. We have already incurred a huge revenue loss but can only operate after the lockdown is over,” said Raja Gopaal.

He also said that the management is planning to convert over 12 rooms of the 245 suites in the hotel into private dining rooms with leisure spaces exclusively for families after the lockdown. “Families won’t be charged for the rooms. The private dining room concept is to ensure that there is social distancing and only family members are together,” said Raja Gopaal.

Many hotel owners also opined that they don’t expect the industry to revive anytime soon with social distancing norms in place. “There has been a revenue loss of over `2 crore in the month of May alone. Over 1,695 room and 61 banquet hall bookings have been cancelled since the lockdown. We are unsure when the situation will return to normalcy,” said Nanthu Oommen, director, Rajadhani Group of Hotels.

Business has also slumped in all categories of the tourism industry including the government-run Kerala State Cooperative Tourism Federation Ltd (Tourfed) which had planned a slew of attractive packages for the summer. “We have incurred a loss of `1 crore. We had planned trips for children based in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

The Veli miniature rail, a project by Tourfed and the Kerala Tourism Department, which was supposed to begin on April 1 had to be put on a halt,” said Syam G, senior marketing executive, Tourfed. He also noted that more than 60 bookings made under the leave travel concession (LTC) package for government employees have also been cancelled. Besides this, the Arabian Sea package which includes a train journey from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi, a three-hour cruise trip and the Jatayu-Munroe island package, popular among domestic tourists, had to be cancelled.

Trying times 

The COVID-19 outbreak has come as another blow to the tourism industry recovering from the 2018 flood and the Nipah scare. Most premium hotels have reported losses to the tune of a few crores.