State's tourism prospects rosy: Kadakampally Surendran

Kochi: The Homestay sector in the state should strive for developing the tourism industry to the next level of growth, said Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. Speaking after inaugurating the second Homestay and Rural Tourism Meet in Kochi on Friday, the minister said the state earned around Rs 38,000 cr from the tourism sector. Based on the projections of the worldwide growth of the tourism sector, the minister said Kerala was poised to benefit from this growth and the homestay sector should be equipped to leverage the potential of the state.

According to projections by experts, the tourism sector is expected to contribute $4.35 trillion of the country’s GDP by 2024. Kerala being in the forefront of the tourism sector, it was in a position to take advantage of these growth projections, he added. The foreign tourist arrivals in the state was 10.38 lakh while domestic tourists were 1.32 cr according to the data for the previous year, he said. Representatives from 11 states in the country and delegates from Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are attending the three-day event. An exhibition has also been organized as part of the event.