Date:14/08/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/08/14/stories/2004081401731700.htm

Back Tourism: Kerala's loss is Kashmir's gain

C.J. Punnathara

The lure of the backwaters. - S. Mahinsha

Kochi , Aug. 13

IT has been a very lean season for Kerala's hospitality industry. And, Kerala's loss turned out to be Kashmir's gain. The lean season in Kerala proved to be the peak season in Kashmir and this summer the valley was brimming over with tourists.

But the captains of Kerala's hospitality industry have not lost heart. Mr Jose Dominic, Managing Director of the CGJ Earth Group of Hotels, said: "We have not been as aggressive in our marketing endeavour as in the past.

And the efforts of competing destinations like Kashmir, Uttaranchal, Goa and Chhattisgarh all seem to have borne fruit. But the bookings for the high season starting October have been quite encouraging."

While the domestic leisure segment had been giving a wide berth to the traditional Kerala circuit during the lean season, business visitors, health tourism and conventions had helped in revitalising the tourism sector.

Mr Karan Singh Bhati, Director of Business Development, Le Meridien, said: "Though the domestic tourist arrivals dipped sharply from April onwards, it was made up by a surge in non-conventional tourist arrivals from the Gulf region this year. Conventions and ayurvedic rejuvenation therapies have not only helped to revitalise the physical self, but also helped to revive the business sentiments."

The sharp fall in airline fares through special schemes like apex fares as well as sector specific schemes also helped to assuage the sagging domestic tourist arrivals into the State. Senior officials of the Taj Group of hotels said:

"Though the sharp fall in airline fares did not result in a jump in domestic tourist arrivals, it provided greater and more frequent opportunities for the business traveller to visit the state. The strident growth of the Indian economy also created more business opportunities, necessitating far more frequent travel."

But most hoteliers conceded that Kerala could never remain complacent as `God's Own Country'. Several other states and destinations have begun to claim their place in the sun. Uttaranchal, Kashmir, Goa and Chhattisgarh have all come up with effective campaigns to woo the ubiquitous Indian tourists. And their success rate is quite in evidence in the falling number of domestic tourists visiting God's Own Country.