Higher Inbound Tourist Arrivals in Kerala

Web Desk

Though the tourism industry has been hit by the GST and the liquor cap, Kerala managed to attract travellers from across the world in 2017. The state has registered 4.23 per cent overall growth rate of tourist arrivals from Jan 2017 to September 2017 compared to the same period last year.

Though there was only a slight increase in the foreign tourist arrivals (FTA), the domestic tourist arrivals saw a remarkable increase. The domestic tourist arrivals registered a two-fold increase of 10,18,986, in 2017 compared to the same period previous year. The total arrival of domestic tourists in the state up to September 2017, stood at about 1.02 crores, an increase of 11.23 per cent compared to 2016. The domestic tourist inflow was majorly to Alappuzha, Idukki, Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam whereas arrivals to the temple town Guruvayur saw a slight dip.

The overall growth in the arrival of foreigners during the period stood at 4.23 per cent of which the growth rate till July was 7.8 per cent. Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam saw the most number of foreign tourists in the time period. The slight increase in the foreign tourist arrivals is an encouragement for the state tourism policy, through which the Kerala government is looking for doubling the number of domestic tourists and 50 per cent increase in foreign arrivals by 2021.