Kerala floods: Rain fury hits monsoon tourism

Kochi: Monsoon tourism has taken a huge hit in the wake of the unprecedented rain and floods and the Nipah virus scare. Both hill and backwater tourism fell by half shattering the hopes of tour operators and hoteliers for a boom period.

"If it was the Nipah virus scare that resulted in many cancellations in June, the floods led to another spate of cancellations in July. Then came the landslides and opening of dam shutters in August and we lost all the three months," said Mr John J. Akkarakkalam, secretary of Kerala Houseboat Owners Federation.

He said that tourists from the Gulf and North India mainly arrive for monsoon tourism, but the Nipah virus scared them first. "They come for monsoon tourism as part of a package and would visit multiple places. If something scares them at one part, their itinerary gets upset," he said. The latest crisis on the high ranges of Idukki and Wayanad thus hit house boat tourism in Alappuzha and Kottayam. The house boat sector suffered a total loss of Rs 10 crore in three months. "We are now looking at the season beginning in September but the US travel advisory against visiting the state has come as a dampener," he said.

Mr Shankar Rajasekharan, general manager of Blanket Hotels in Munnar, said that business had come down by 50 percent on the high ranges, including Thekkady, Munnar and Wayanad. Many hotel rooms were lying vacant.

 "The social media also contributed to the scare by spreading unsubstantiated information. Most of the guests from the Gulf and North India, except those who stick to their yearly tourism schedules, did not undertake the visit here," he said. He added that the high range monsoon tourism incurred a loss of over Rs 100 crore.