It was Kerala’s sunrise sector until just a few months ago, but the thickening clouds of the global economic recession have cast a pall over the state’s tourism industry, which just last year had grown by 25 per cent. Now, a wide spectrum of enterprises, ranging from homestay providers to high-end hotels and resorts, are reeling under a severe reversal of fortunes.

Kerala Tourism Secretary Dr V Venu said that it was difficult to gauge just how far-reaching the crisis was at this stage, but hotels and resorts had already reported 30 per cent cancellations at a time when the state had been hoping to maintain at least last year’s growth rate. The revenue from tourism, which employs around 12 lakh people, had touched Rs 11,433 crore then.

The travel advisories against the country after the Mumbai attacks have also prompted many cancellations while corporate houses have stopped booking rooms for company getaways and conferences.

According to industry sources, the worst affected is backwater tourism in Alappuzha, which has 460 houseboats and 3,000-odd direct employees. Even the famous Kovalam beach has not been spared. Houseboat Owners’ Association president V C Zachariah said operators had been struggling to keep afloat as business had come down by more than 30 per cent. The flow of domestic tourists from north India is down to a trickle. “After Christmas and New Year bookings, we are heading for blank days. Unable to tide over the crisis, some entrepreneurs have decided to ground their boats,” said Zachariah.

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