Kerala’s tourism sector has registered an estimated loss of about INR 1,000 crore, following a dip in the arrival of foreign and domestic tourists since the centre announced demonetisation move, the state government has said.
The cash crunch has severely affected the sector and the loss was estimated to be about INR 1,000 crore since the demonetisation of old INR 500 and INR 1,000 currency notes came into effect, state Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran informed, while adding that there was a decrease of 10-15 per cent in the number of foreign tourists arriving while the number of domestic tourists dipped by 20-30 per cent.
The fall in tourist arrivals was in contrast to an increase in the numbers of both foreign and domestic tourists before demonetisation, the minister said. He pointed out that the state netted a revenue of INR 25,000 crore every year from the tourism sector.
“The currency crunch arose during the tourism season itself and so, things went wrong to a great extent,” Surendran said, adding that foreign tourists were not getting enough cash at airports on their arrival, and tourists were spending little money in the state which had affected the local traders.
“The houseboat business, one of the main attractions of backwater tourism in Kerala, was on the verge of collapse. The state government would do everything possible to boost the tourism sector,” he said.
A total of 79 new tourist spots would be identified and an environment-friendly green carpet project would be implemented at these places, and a special package for tourism in the Malabar region would also be rolled out, revealed Surendran.
The tourism department had sought INR 1,000 crore from Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board. Of this, projects worth INR 362 crore would be cleared soon.
(PTI)
