6.23% growth in FTAs to Kerala in 2016

A total of 14.2 million tourists visited Kerala in 2016, corresponding to a 5.71 per cent growth as compared to 2015. The provisional figures from the tourism department indicated that 14,210,954 tourists came to Kerala in 2016, out of which 13,172,535 were domestic arrivals and 1,038,419 were foreign visitors, corresponding to an increase of 5.67 per cent and 6.23 per cent respectively as compared to 2015. An 8 per cent increase in tourist arrivals was expected in November, a peak tourist season for Kerala. Dr. Venu V, Principal Secretary-Tourism, Government of Kerala, pointed out, “A setback to the tourism sector will have a significant impact on the economy. The continuous efforts by the government and private tourism partners helped Kerala Tourism withstand the demonetisation crisis. The unique tourism products and innovative marketing strategies helped Kerala to a large extent to tide over the difficult phase.” While the months of October and December saw increases of 8.45 per cent and 8.01 per cent respectively when compared to 2015, November saw a smaller increase of 6.98 per cent. The overall scenario was better compared to domestic arrivals since foreign visitors tend to book their holidays in advance, the state tourism department added.

Source: PTI