Sharp increase in number of domestic tourists visiting Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tourism Minister PA Muhammad Riyas said that the number of domestic tourists in the state has increased by 72.48 per cent. This is based on the number of tourists who arrived in the first quarter of this year. He added that it was an achievement for the state to attract 38 lakh domestic tourists during this period.

22 lakh domestic tourists visited the state last year. Ernakulam district topped the list with 8,11,426 domestic tourists in the first quarter of 2022. Thiruvananthapuram came second with 6,00,933 tourists. Idukki (5,11,947), Thrissur (3,58,052) and Wayanad (3,10,322) came third, fourth and fifth respectively.

The minister said that the increase of 16 lakh in the number of domestic tourists over the previous year was a sign that the tourism sector was recovering from the Covid crisis. Domestic tourists are those who travel from one district to another, from one state to another, and to various places within the district. There has also been a significant increase in the number of foreign tourists this year. The number of tourists who arrived in the state during the first quarter of last year was 14,489, but this time the number of tourists increased by 200.55 per cent to 43,547.