Kerala Tourism has bounced back from the setbacks caused by the Covid pandemic, clocking 3.8 million domestic tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2022.

The South Indian state posted an impressive growth of 72.48 percent when it comes to domestic tourist arrivals, as compared to 2.2 million footfalls during the corresponding period in 2021, Tourism Minister P. A. Mohamed Riyas has said.

Going by the trend, Kerala Tourism is set to attract a record number of tourists this year on the strength of its globally acclaimed assets, new products, and initiatives like caravan tourism, and by exploring the unexplored destinations across the state, he said recently.

Ernakulam district registered the highest number - 811,426 domestic tourists, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (600,933), Idukki (511,947), Thrissur (358,052), and Wayanad (310,322).

Five districts - Idukki, Malappuram, Kasaragod, Pathanamthitta, and Wayanad - registered the highest ever footfall since their formation.

Overall, there was a significant increase of 16 lakh tourists in the first three months of the current year compared to the corresponding period last year.

The foreign tourist arrivals too picked up remarkably compared to the first quarter of 2021. A total of 43, 547 foreign tourist arrivals were recorded in the first quarter this year compared to 14,489 in the corresponding period in 2021, notching a significant increase of 200.55 percent. There was a spike of about 29,000 foreign tourist arrivals in Kerala during the three months.

The foreign tourists mainly focused on Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram districts.

Meanwhile, the state government will soon announce a ‘Destination Challenge’ initiative in association with the local self-government department (LSGD) to identify at least one destination under each LSG institution. Also, tourism clubs will be formed on college campuses for the upkeep of tourism centers.

ENDS