Tourism thriving, but Europeans continue to ignore Kerala; Know more about the trend

The tourism sector is seeing its best days in Kerala, but a recent study pointed to a peculiar dip among Europeans visiting the southern Indian state. The number of Europeans choosing Sri Lanka over Kerala has increased in the last five years. Tourism establishments in Sri Lanka are now managed by European companies. As a result, European agencies are giving preference to Sri Lanka. Germans are the majority of tourists who prefer the exotic beaches in Lanka over the serene ones in Kerala.

Sri Lankan Airlines operates direct flights from airports in Europe. Since these are direct flights, the fares are also low. There are no direct flights from Europe to Kerala. For a foreign tourist intent on visiting Kerala, they will have to land in either Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru before taking a connecting flight to the southern Indian state. This results in a steep rise in ticket rates.

Entrepreneurs said that the switching of Europeans will affect the Ayurveda and wellness sector in Kerala. Entrepreneurs say that Sri Lanka offers lower rates than Kerala for flights, accommodation and travel facilities.

Europeans are interested in staying near the beaches for wellness treatment. Kerala is a conducive choice for such a plan, and so is the rush of tourists to the beach destinations in the state. Studying the trend, Ayurvedic resort facilities started popping up in Sri Lanka as well, employing many Malayali doctors.

“Governments and airline companies should change their policies to avoid diverting luxury-loving, high-spending Europeans.” Sajeev Kurup, President, Ayurveda Promotion Society