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Resurgence of Covid casts shadow on tourism sector in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  The resurgence of the new Covid variant is casting a shadow on the booming tourism industry in Kerala. The news of Covid-related deaths and the growing number of cases have spread like wildfire on social media platforms, triggering panic among tourists.

While the tourism season is in full swing, the stakeholders are concerned about the reports on COVID-19 that portray Kerala as the hot spot of the new variant in the country. The Centre has also sounded high alert for Kerala and has given direction to all the states to scale up testing for COVID-19.

According to the stakeholders, the industry receives a high number of bookings in December and January. Indian Association of Tour Operators Vice-President E M Najeeb told TNIE that the tour operators are bombarded with calls from tourists during this time. “We met the tourism secretary and apprised him of our concern. The news about COVID-19 that is coming out is bad for the industry and we have demanded not to highlight the disease so much. As of now, the situation is under control. But if the cases rise, the industry will feel the heat,” said Najeeb. 

He blamed the media coverage and news on social media for the rising apprehension and anxiety among the tourists. “We have only a few international tourists now and a large share of the visitors are from other states. Anticipated precautions will not affect the industry much,” he added. Industry insiders are worried about the trend as the previous Nipah outbreak also negatively impacted the industry.

ALSO READ |  Kerala records 128 new Covid-19 cases, one death

Kerala State Homestay and Tourism Society secretary M P Sivadathan said the homestay owners are very apprehensive about the situation. “Last year also we survived on domestic tourism. The inflow of foreign tourists is yet to pick up and we have done so much campaigning in north India and other states to bring in domestic tourists. And we are getting bookings like never before. But after the news of the new variant of Covid-19, we are getting anxious calls from our clients. Although negligible in number, there have been cancellations too,” said Sivadathan.

He said the tourism industry had struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic. “Things were going good. However, the new outbreak of Covid has left us all concerned,” he said. The booming MICE Tourism is also under threat in the state. Raju Kannampuzha of Executive Events said “We are getting queries from clients checking on the Covid situation in the state. Our company conducted six events and two major events are being scheduled for January. As of now, there is no problem. However, even minor issues are being highlighted and circulated on social media,” said Raju.

Impact on Tourism

• Industry insiders are worried about the trend as the previous Nipah outbreak also negatively impacted the industry
• Homestay owners are very apprehensive about the situation
• They say after the news of new variant of Covid, they are getting anxious calls from clients

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• Kerala Tourism revamps strategy to woo travellers with new projects and events

Introducing new destinations, conceptualising innovative tourism circuits, investing in infrastructure development, broadening the award-winning Responsible Tourism initiative, which allows tourists to experience village life and local communities to benefit, and ensuring better connectivity are the new focus areas of the state’s rejigged tourism initiatives.

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• Published On Jan 18, 2023 at 06:00 PM IST

• Updated On Jan 18, 2023 at 06:00 PM IST

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Kerala videos, kerala photos, tourism news, kerala tourism newsletter, record spike in domestic tourist arrivals to kerala in nine months of 2022: tourism minister.

Kerala made a record-setting 196 per cent surge in domestic tourist arrivals in the first three quarters of the current year as compared to the corresponding period a year ago, reflecting a spectacular comeback from the pandemic-triggered downturn, the Tourism Minister Mr P. A. Mohamed Riyas has said. Sending clear signals that Kerala’s crucial travel and hospitality sector is poised to surpass pre-pandemic levels, the state received a total of 1,33,80,000 domestic tourists in nine months till this September, notching a 1.49 per cent increase as compared to the same period before COVID-19 struck the world, the minister said. Also, the January-September period this year saw a 600 per cent stride in foreign tourist arrivals to Kerala, and the state is expected to host more overseas travellers as the world is opening up after the pandemic-induced restrictions. On the whole, Kerala Tourism grew by 120 per cent amid a 12.07 per cent surge in state Gross Domestic Product in 2021-22, which is above the national average, as cited by the Department of Economics and Statistics, the minister said. “Kerala managed to put the tourism sector back on its growth trajectory by adopting timely policies with the required flexibility. The state has succeeded in guaranteeing safe tourism, supplemented with new products,” Mr Riyas said. Kerala’s caravan tourism, Keravan Kerala, launched during the pandemic period, will be further developed as it has tremendous scope to attract foreign tourists. As part of this, plans are afoot to develop caravan parks in Bolgatty and Kumarakom, the minister said. This July, Time magazine featured Kerala among the world’s 50 extraordinary destinations to be explored in 2022. The newsmagazine of international repute particularly lauded Kerala’s caravan tourism project that promises a safe, customized and closest-to-Nature travel experience, Mr Riyas said. The third quarter of 2022 saw Ernakulam district ranking first in domestic tourism with 28,93,961 tourist visits, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (21,46,969), Idukki (17,85,276), Thrissur (15,07,511), and Wayanad (10,93,175). There has been a notable increase in footfalls in three upland districts of the state - Idukki (47.55%), Wayanad (34.57%), and Pathanamthitta (47.69%).

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Kerala Tourism focuses on developing 'responsible tourism' to increase livelihood of locals

10 november 2022, 06:18 am ist.

Representational Image | Mathrubhumi

Mumbai: Upbeat about the increasing tourist footfalls, Kerala Tourism is focused on domestic travellers and is planning to ramp up "responsible or sustainable tourism" in the state to drive growth.

"We are now focusing on domestic tourists, which was 1.33 crore people during January-September 2022, from 45 lakh in the same period in 2021. The rise in tourism activities started growing after the Delta wave passed and normalcy returned in August last year and picked up momentum this year," Kerala Tourism information officer Sajeesh N told PTI.

He said the state is expecting the last three months of this calendar year to witness a good hike in domestic travellers visiting Kerala.

"To attract domestic tourists we are looking forward to promoting the winter holiday season even in a bigger way in Kerala. We have chalked out a slew of programmes including festivals, houseboats, caravan stays, Ayurveda-based wellness solutions, adventure activities, among others," he added.

To make the tourism sector inclusive and generate income, the Kerala government had six months back directed all panchayats in the state to come up with one tourism product or offering that will help in increasing the livelihood of local people and villages, he said.

"We are also planning to promote responsible and sustainable tourism, where people can go back to basics with minimalistic living and enjoying nature. The government is imparting training to local people so that it can improve their livelihood," he noted.

He said, there are a lot of enquiries on people wanting to experience farming along with the farmers and live in villages to have first hand experience of the rural life and going forward Kerala Tourism is focused on developing this segment.

When asked about the foreign tourist arrivals, Sajeesh said, it has increased from last year as the flights resumed and in the first 9 months of this calendar year the state saw 2.06 lakh travellers compared to 29,412 in the same period last year.

However, the growth is likely to be limited as the international chartered flights are yet to resume in the state, he added.

In terms of the international source market of the state, Russia is at the top followed by Maldives, the US, Oman and the UK, he added. PTI

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Chitra Pournami 2024: This Ancient Temple In Kerala Opens For Devotees Only Once In A Year

The annual Chitra Pournami festival at the ancient Mangaladevi temple in Kerala's Idukki District on Tuesday. Thousands from both Kerala and Tamil Nadu thronged the Mangaladevi Kannagi Temple to offer prayers, on the only day of the year when it is open for devotees.

Where is Mangaladevi Kannagi Temple

Located at a distance of 15 km from Thekkady inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve , the ancient temple is on the border of Idukki district in Kerala and Theni district in Tamil Nadu.

The Chitra Pournami festival is jointly organised by Kerala and Tamil Nadu and has prayers in both Malayalam and Tamil languages. 

The temple is situated at an altitude of about 1,337 meter above sea level and is only approachable by jeeps from Kumily.

It is famous for its Pandyan architecture and the boundary walls and the steps leading to the temple are made up of huge stones.

Legend of Kannagi

The presiding deity of the temple is Mangaladevi also known as Kannagi, from the Tamil epic Cilappatikaram.

According to Kannagi, the devoted wife of Kovalan took revenge against killing her innocent husband by accusing him as a thief. It is said that she stormed into the king’s court and cut off one of her breasts, before burning down the whole of Madurai city . Kannagi later reached the Suruli hills from where she went to heaven in Pushpaka Vimana along with Kovalan.

History of Mangaladevi Kannagi Temple

The temple was built by Cheran Chenguttuvan, the king of ancient Tamilakam, around 2000 years back at Vannathiparai and named it 'Kannagi Kottam' or Mangaladevi Kannagi Temple. 

Apart from Mangala Devi there are also idols of Karuppuswamy, Lord Shiva and Ganapathy in the temple.

It was originally a part of Tamil Nadu's Theni district but later became a part of Kerala's Idukki district, which is still disputed.

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Scorching heat continues in Kerala: Yellow alert in 10 districts till April 25

Thiruvananthapuram: Despite the advent of summer rain, rising mercury levels continue to sizzle Kerala. The India Meteorological Department has issued a high-temperature warning and a yellow alert for 10 districts- Kollam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Kannur, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Malappuram from Sunday (April 21) to Thursday (April 24). Kollam and Thrissur districts are likely to record the highest temperature of 39 degrees Celsius in the state. 

“Maximum temperatures are very likely to be around 38˚C in Palakkad and Kozhikode districts, around 37˚C in Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Kannur districts and around 36˚C in Alappuzha, Kottayam and Malappuram districts (2 to 3˚C above normal) during 21st to 25th April 2024,” reads the IMD alert. 

Light to moderate rainfall likely in several districts Meanwhile, the Met Department has predicted light to moderate rainfall accompanied by lightning and gusty winds with speeds reaching up to 40 kmph in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur. The summer rains are expected to batter these districts by 6 pm. 

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CPM won in Alappuzha seat even as Congress swept Kerala in the 2019 elections

The focus will be on Kerala during the Phase 2 voting of Lok Sabha elections 2024 as all 20 seats in this southern state go to polls on April 26.

One of the most keenly watched constituencies in this phase will be in the serene backwater gateway of Alappuzha where Rahul Gandhi's trusted aide KC Venugopal will try to wrest his stronghold back from the CPM's AM Ariff. It will also witness the BJP's Sobha Surendran challenge the Left-Congress binary that the state has traditionally voted for.

Mr Venugopal is not new to Alappuzha, a constituency he has represented twice (2009-2019) in the Lok Sabha. He did not contest the 2019 elections since he was playing a key role in the Congress's overall strategy.

His absence marked a stark political vacuum in Alappuzha, which became the only seat to be clinched by the CPM even as Congress swept the state, winning 19 out of 20 seats, in the 2019 general elections.

The move to bring him back to his old constituency is an attempt to regain the lost stronghold from the CPM, which remains a Congress rival in Kerala though the two parties have joined hands at the national level.

Mr Venugopal, who has been a junior minister for power and civil aviation in the Manmohan Singh cabinet, has strong electoral stats: he has won the Alappuzha Lok Sabha seat twice and recorded a hattrick in the Alappuzha assembly seat (1996-2009).

The Congress general secretary has projected a sweep by the UDF, the regional alliance that it leads, and zero seats for the BJP in the state, besides a victory for himself.

Last year, Mr Venugopal was appointed as a member of the Coordination Committee of the INDIA bloc. Before entering national politics, he won the assembly elections thrice and served as a Dewaswom and tourism minister in the Oommen Chandy cabinet in Kerala.

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His CPM rival, AM Ariff has been repeated to defend his seat, banking on the strong performance of the Left parties in the 2021 assembly elections. In 2019, he defeated the Congress's Shanimol Usman, a loss that came after KC Venugopal chose not to contest. He is among the three Lok Sabha MPs that the CPM has, and the only one from Kerala.

As many as 194 candidates, including 25 women, will be contesting in the 20 seats that go to polls on April 26. The state has a total electorate of 2.8 crore. The results will be counted together for all 543 constituencies on June 4.

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Published: April 25 , 2024 03:25 AM IST Updated: April 24, 2024 11:40 PM IST

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തിരുവനന്തപുരം ∙ സംസ്ഥാനത്ത് ബവ്റിജസ് കോർപറേഷൻ ഒൗട്ട്‌ലെറ്റുകൾക്കും ബാറുകൾക്കും എല്ലാ മാസവും ഒന്നാം തീയതി ഏർപ്പെടുത്തിയിരിക്കുന്ന അവധി നിർത്തലാക്കാനുള്ള ശുപാർശ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥതല സമിതിയുടെ പരിഗണനയിൽ. കാലങ്ങളായി ടൂറിസം വകുപ്പ് ഉന്നയിക്കുന്ന ആവശ്യമാണിത്. 

കരിമണൽ ഖനനത്തിനെതിരെ കേന്ദ്രം നടപടി എടുക്കാത്തതെന്ത്: കെ.സി. വേണുഗോപാൽ

വരുമാന വർധനയ്ക്കുള്ള നടപടികളുടെ ഭാഗമായി നികുതി സെക്രട്ടറിയും ഇൗ നിർദേശം വച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. നദികളിൽ നിന്നു മണൽ വാരുന്നതിനുള്ള ശുപാർശയും സർക്കാരിനു മുന്നിലുണ്ട്. എല്ലാ നിർദേശങ്ങളുടെയും പ്രായോഗിക പഠിക്കാനാണ് ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥ സമിതി. 

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India votes in second election phase as contest heats up

88 seats out of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha up for grabs on Friday

Bengaluru/Kottayam: India began voting on Friday in the second phase of the world’s biggest election, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his rivals raise the pitch of the campaign by focusing on hot-button issues such as religious discrimination, affirmative action and taxes.

Almost one billion people are eligible to vote in the seven-phase general elections that began on April 19 and concludes on June 1, with votes set to be counted on June 4.

Modi is seeking a record-equalling third straight term on the back of his economic record, welfare measures and national pride. Surveys suggest he will easily win a comfortable majority.

His challengers have formed an alliance of more than two dozen parties and are promising greater affirmative action.

A total of 88 seats out of the 543 seats in the lower house of parliament went to the polls on Friday, with 160 million people eligible to vote. They were spread across 13 states and federal territories in the world’s most populous country.

More than half of the seats in Friday’s contests were in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka and the northwestern state of Rajasthan.

The campaign has become more heated since the first phase of voting on April 19 as the BJP and the main opposition Congress party have faced off on communal issues.

Rahul Gandhi in the fray

Rahul Gandhi, former Congress president and the face of the party, was among the 1,200 candidates in the fray on Friday.

“Your vote will decide whether the next government will be of ‘a few billionaires’ or of ‘140 crore Indians’,” Gandhi posted on X as voting began, referring to India’s population of 1.4 billion.

“Therefore, it is the duty of every citizen to step out of their homes today and become a ‘soldier of the constitution’ and vote to protect democracy.” Gandhi is seeking re-election from Wayanad in Kerala and faces Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and BJP’s K. Surendran, among others, in the Left Front-ruled state.

In 2019, Gandhi defeated the CPI candidate by more than 400,000 votes, the highest margin in Kerala, although he lost his second seat to BJP in the family bastion of Amethi in north India. India allows a candidate to contest from more than one seat but they can retain only one if they win from more.

Congress slumped to a historic low when it was swept out of power by BJP in 2014 and won its second-lowest number of 52 seats in 2019, with Kerala contributing the highest tally of 15.

The party is expected to do better in Karnataka this year where it won just one of 28 seats in 2019 but gained strength and defeated BJP in state elections last year.

It is still seen to be struggling nationally as bickering within the opposition alliance it leads and graft cases against some leaders has hobbled its challenge to Modi.

The Election Commission and political parties have been worried about voter turnout due to the summer heat and wedding season in some parts of the country with turnout falling to around 65% in the first phase from nearly 70% in 2019.

While Bengaluru, which has faced an unusually hot summer this year, is forecast to touch a high of 37 degrees Celsius on Friday, Mathura is expected to touch 41 degrees Celsius, weather websites showed.

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