Grappling to sustain amidst the unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry is looking forward to the Christmas-New Year period for revival.
As a sign of improvement, houseboats, hotels and resorts are seeing an surge in bookings, though nowhere near the pre-COVID-19 times.
Houseboat tourism, one of the mainstays of the sector anticipates the upcoming festival period will kickstart the long journey towards normalisation.
“The houseboat industry is not out of the woods yet. With no foreign tourists, we now depend entirely on domestic tourists. A majority of them come from different parts of Kerala, while a small number arrive from other States. Usually, the sector does brisk business during the Christmas-New Year period with tourists from other States and foreigners arriving in good numbers. This year, there is no such rush. However, there are signs of revival. Houseboats have introduced special packages and are offering discounts to attract tourists during the festival period,” says, Kevin Rozario, general secretary, All Kerala Houseboat Owners and Operators Samiti.
Foreign tourists
Industry insiders say lack of tourists from abroad is hurting the sector as foreigners tend to stay for a much longer duration than the domestic tourists.
“We can say that the sector is on the path to revival, but it is a slow process. The most important thing is survival. We are offering rooms at discounted prices. Although the volume of bookings is less compared to the earlier times, it is picking up ahead of the Christmas holiday season. However, the normalisation is still several months away,” says, Radhakrishna Shenoi, general manager, Marari Beach Resort.
Rise in footfall
According to the Tourism Department, the district is witnessing an increase in tourist footfall since the sector opened in October. “Houseboat operations have started to gather steam with an increase in tourist arrivals, especially during holidays and weekends. A large number of houseboats have already received bookings for the festival period. Overall things are getting better in the tourism sector in the district,” says M. Malin, secretary, District Tourism Promotion Council.
Houseboat owners have sought relaxation in COVID-19-related restrictions. They called upon authorities to do away with a cap of 10 passengers in a boat and two persons in a room. There is also a demand to open the Alappuzha beach. “Unnecessary restrictions are hurting the sector. The government should also promote Alappuzha, a major backwater tourism destination,” Mr. Rozario says.
