Post flood, Kerala campaigns to bring back tourists

Arnab Nandy

September 4 (TravelAndy): The South Indian state of Kerala has started an intensive tourism promotion campaign ahead of the high season that begins in a few weeks, reports said.

Battered by devastating floods that saw several hundred people losing their lives, the Kerala tourism authorities are trying their best to convince tourists that the situation is safe for them to visit places such as Munnar, Alleppey and Wayanad.

“We are planning a national campaign to promote Kerala as a safe place to travel and stay. This is likely to be launched before or along with the four-day Kerala Travel Mart that begins in Kochi on September 27, World Tourism Day,” The Hindu quoted tourism director P. Bala Kiran as saying.

The department will focus on the Jatayu Nature Park at Chadayamangalam and the Neelakurinji, which has blossomed after 12 years on the slopes of Munnar.

The tourism industry in Kerala has witnessed thousands of cancellations during July, August and September and losses to the tune of an estimated Rs 2,000 crore, the director said, the Hindu reported.

But the situation on the ground and the tourism industry in the south Indian state are inching back to normality.

A. Biswas from West Bengal, who has planned a trip to Kerala with his family in November, is not worried.

“I am not changing my plans. November is still two months away and I am sure by that time, things will be absolutely normal. I am looking forward to the trip,” he said.