Unexplored tourist destinations being identified to revive tourism industry in Kerala: Minister Mohammed Riyas

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With domestic tourism in Kerala having suffered losses of Rs 33,000 crore from March 2020 to December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government has said unexplored tourist destinations are being identified to bring in more travellers for reviving the key sector.
According to Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas,the tourism sector has also suffered a loss of Rs 7,000 crore in foreign exchange earnings as the number of domestic and international travellers has dropped drastically since 2016 and especially during the pandemic period.

He said that meetings have been held at panchayat level in all the districts of the state to identify the unexplored tourist destinations and map them out.

Thereafter, these places, in each panchayat, would be collated on an app so that they can be brought to everyone's attention worldwide, Riyas said on Sunday.

The minister, at a press meet, said that the state government was working to revive domestic tourism by identifying unexplored tourist destinations in various districts and collating them on an app so that they can be brought to everyone's attention worldwide.

The initiative was mentioned at the press meet which was held to announce the holding of onam celebrations virtually wherein Kerala's arts, culture, food varieties and prominent tourist destinations would be showcased with the help of visual media and other means.

The Minister directed to strengthen the vaccination campaign launched in the state as soon as the vaccine becomes available. The aim of this campaign is to increase vaccination and vaccinate as many people as possible.