An increase of 11.39 per cent has been recorded in domestic tourist arrivals to Kerala in 2017, as compared to the figures of previous year, according to figures compiled by Kerala Tourism. Meanwhile, foreign tourist arrivals increased by 5.15 per cent during the period.
“Travellers from across the globe arrived in Kerala in large numbers during 2017, and the growth has been recorded at 5.15 per cent compared with the figures of last year. This comes at a time when the tourism industry is suffering from adverse factors like enhanced GST rates and allied hurdles. The growth figures point to the immense popularity Kerala Tourism enjoys beyond the borders”, said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswoms.
With growth almost doubling than that of last year, domestic tourist arrivals have, in fact, achieved more than what has been targeted in the Kerala Tourism Policy. On the foreign tourist arrivals front, footfalls have increased from 10,38,419 to 10,91,870. The figures point to the fact that there has been an increase of 53,451 more foreign tourists this year, with figures nearing 11 lakh.