The Kerala tourism department’s claim of a significant increase in domestic tourists over the past two years has been debunked. Statistics show that three-quarters of visitors to the state’s tourist centers post-COVID are from within Kerala. Industry insiders highlight the lack of effective strategies to attract tourists from outside the state, resulting in lower-than-expected revenue due to the predominance of local tourists.
Tourism Minister PA Muhammad Riyas asserted that domestic tourist influx to Kerala post-COVID has reached an all-time high, with 2.18 crore domestic tourists in 2023, marking a 15.92 percent increase from 2022. However, his broad definition of domestic tourists, which includes anyone visiting a tourist destination within the country, masks the fact that 71.5 percent of these visitors were Keralites, leaving only 28.5 percent from other states. The tourism department’s own data also indicates that 68.85 percent of domestic tourists in the first quarter of 2023 were from Kerala.
The tourism department has faced strong criticism for its failure to plan and provide adequate infrastructure to attract out-of-state tourists, even at internationally recognized sites. Critics argue that the department’s efforts have been largely confined to generating statistics, without implementing substantial measures to boost tourism from outside Kerala.
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