Kerala’s stunning landscapes, biodiversity, and rich culture have made it one of India’s premier destinations for domestic and international tourists. Aptly branded ‘God’s Own Country’ since 1989, the State’s scenic charm is hard to resist for the average traveller. It is a haven for wanderers, with foggy mountains, winding rivers, and surging waterfalls set amid lush greenery, pristine beaches along its largely unspoiled 580-km coastline, and the famed backwaters. Idukki and Wayanad captivate visitors with their spice-laden air and vast coffee, tea, cardamom, and pepper plantations that drive much of India’s spice production.
Adding to this appeal are the sparkling peacock-blue waters of the Arabian Sea and the unique geography wedged between the Western Ghats and the coast. On the cultural front, traditional Kathakali dance-drama performances and the spectacular snake boat races held during the Onam festival offer a visual treat to visitors. Nature, culture, and built structures that point to a past imbued with monumental political and social struggles make it a fascinating region for visitors.
The State’s economy is heavily dependent on its growing tourism sector, which contributes around 10% of the State’s gross domestic product (GSDP). Kerala’s ancient maritime trade with the Romans, Phoenicians, Arabs, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, and English helped make the State increasingly popular among international travellers over the centuries. This rising interest continued until recently, especially in the years leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The State recorded a peak of 11.89 lakh foreign tourist arrivals in 2019, but the momentum collapsed after the pandemic hit. Arrivals fell to 3.40 lakh in 2020 and then to a low of 0.64 lakh in 2021. Signs of recovery appeared in 2022, when Kerala reopened after easing COVID-19 restrictions, with foreign arrivals rising to 3.45 lakh. This was followed by 6.49 lakh visitors in 2023 and 7.38 lakh in 2024, still only about 62% of the pre-pandemic level.
Foreign tourist arrivals in Kerala peaked at 11.89 lakh in 2019, but momentum collapsed after the pandemic struck. The photo shows a tea estate in Munnar, a major tourism destination.
| Photo Credit:
Jomon Pampavalley
Overall tourism numbers, however, looked stronger: Kerala attracted around 2.3 crore domestic and international tourists in 2024, generating roughly ₹45,000 crore in direct and indirect revenue. Domestic tourism has driven this growth, fuelled by “revenge travel” among Keralites. After attracting 1.83 crore domestic visitors in 2019, the State quickly surpassed pre-pandemic levels with 1.88 crore in 2022, then set new records of 2.18 crore in 2023 and 2.24 crore in 2024.
Keralites made up 68.5% of domestic tourists in 2024, followed by Tamil Nadu (10.52%), Karnataka (6.22%), Maharashtra (3.37%), Andhra Pradesh (1.95%), Gujarat (1.38%), Delhi (1.32%), Telangana (1.12%), Uttar Pradesh (0.92%), and West Bengal (0.8%). British tourists continued to lead the foreign segment with 14.55%, followed by the U.S. (13.33%), Germany (6.24%), France (6.12%), Malaysia (5.55%), Oman (5.2%), Australia (4.32%), the Maldives (4.1%), Saudi Arabia (4.05%), UAE (3.35%), Canada (2.32%), Italy (2.26%), Russia (1.87%), Singapore (1.61%), and Spain (1.48%).
Several factors have contributed to sluggish foreign tourist arrivals, including exorbitant post-COVID airfares, visa restrictions imposed by countries like the U.K., and stiff competition from neighbouring destinations like Sri Lanka. The island nation has increasingly become a lower-cost alternative, providing products and experiences akin to those in Kerala.
According to Sajeev Kurup, general secretary of the Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industries (CKTI), Sri Lanka now offers Ayurveda treatments for $100 compared to Kerala’s $150. With wellness tourists comprising nearly 70% of Kerala’s foreign visitors, Sri Lanka’s competitive pricing poses a significant challenge.
In the leisure sector, Kerala has to compete with countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, where simplified visa regimes and affordable tour packages have been drawing international tourists, including Indians, according to James Kodianthara, former chairperson of the Kerala chapter of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).
Evolving global geopolitics has cast a shadow over Kerala’s prospects in recent years. This includes escalating violence in parts of the world, particularly the Ukraine-Russia war, and instability in West Asia driven by the Israel-Palestine conflict, which has spilled beyond both territories. Economic uncertainty in Europe has added to these challenges.
Foreign tourists spend around ₹1 lakh per trip, significantly benefiting Kerala’s economy. The photo shows visitors enjoying a country boat cruise in Alappuzha’s backwaters.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat
Though buoyant domestic tourism has partly offset the shortfall in foreign visitors, the average spending of foreign tourists remains far higher. Kerala’s economy and fragile environment benefit from promoting foreign tourism, as an average foreign visitor spends around ₹1 lakh locally per trip, compared with just one-eighth of that by domestic tourists.
Environmental challenges
Despite its scenic beauty, Kerala is an environmentally and ecologically fragile region. Situated along India’s west coast and bordered by the Western Ghats to the east, which are to Kerala what the Himalayas are to North India, the State is prone to catastrophic landslides and flash floods, especially during the four-month southwest monsoon season, which brings around 2,000 mm of rain from June to September. Climate change-induced monsoon variability has kept the State on edge, particularly after the 2018 floods that claimed nearly 500 lives in August.
The most recent disaster struck in late July 2024, when over 572 mm of rain fell in just 48 hours, triggering massive landslides in Wayanad’s Chooralmala and Mundakkai regions. Around 300 people were killed, and many others went missing. Kerala is still reeling from the shock. Popular hill destinations for monsoon tourism appeared deserted, as visitors, wary of rain-related hazards, stayed away.
Kerala is prone to landslides and flash floods during the southwest monsoon season. The photo shows NDRF personnel searching for bodies after a major landslide in Chooralmala, Wayanad in July, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat
The impact was evident in 2024’s domestic tourist statistics, with growth plummeting to just 1.7%, compared with 15.92% in 2023. Pre-pandemic, Kerala’s domestic tourism had averaged nearly 10% annual growth. The sharp decline is largely attributed to the Wayanad landslide, which disrupted tourism across hill stations, including faraway Idukki, as travellers avoided the region during the rainy season, concerned about hidden dangers beneath the scenic landscapes.
Bleak August
In fact, fear of floods and disasters gripped the people of Kerala, particularly in August, after back-to-back natural calamities struck the State, driven by extreme rainfall events. Two consecutive floods in August 2018 and 2019, followed by a series of landslides in subsequent years during the same month, discouraged tourists from visiting.
According to industry stakeholders, it is normal for tourism activities to come to a halt immediately after any natural calamity or health emergency, as both foreign and domestic travellers tend to avoid disaster-prone areas. For instance, during Nipah virus outbreaks in Kerala, the tourism sector was among the first to be affected, with reduced bookings and cancellations of domestic and international itineraries due to fear and travel advisories. Similarly, fatalities from scattered amoebic meningoencephalitis infections also impacted tourism. It is up to the State government to restore confidence among travellers by announcing the reopening of destinations, highlighting their safety, and adhering to best practices.
Carrying capacity
Kerala’s hill stations face mounting pressure from mass tourism in ecologically vulnerable areas. Although the Kerala High Court directed the State last September to conduct carrying capacity studies of all hill stations within a month, the government has yet to regulate mass tourism, the practice of allowing large numbers of tourists in a concentrated timeframe, especially in the fragile Western Ghats.
The impact is most visible in Idukki and Wayanad. In 2023, one-fourth of Kerala’s 2.18 crore domestic tourists, approximately 54 lakh, visited these two hill districts alone. This counts only tourists who booked accommodations; day-trippers who arrive in the morning and leave by evening aren’t included in official figures. The actual number could be four times higher.
Tourist numbers in Kerala’s Western Ghats far exceed the carrying capacity of both the destinations and access roads. Despite repeated natural disasters, the State has conducted no serious studies on carrying capacity or optimal tourist limits for these ecologically fragile areas.
Tourist numbers in Kerala’s Western Ghats far exceed the carrying capacity of destinations and access roads. The photo shows traffic congestion at Rajamala near Munnar in Idukki district.
| Photo Credit:
Jomon Pampavalley
This harms both the hospitality sector and the region’s fragile ecology. Industry insiders warn that tourists seeking tranquil destinations will increasingly look elsewhere. Kerala’s failure to curb unsustainable practices drew international attention after the 2024 landslide, when Fodor’s Travel placed the State on its No List 2025 for the first time, citing environmental issues and unsustainable tourism.
Fodor’s Travel, a leading authority in travel recommendations for over 85 years, publishes annual Go and No lists highlighting destinations to visit or avoid. Kerala appeared in the “destinations beginning to suffer” category alongside Agrigento, Sicily (facing water crises worsened by tourism) and the British Virgin Islands (overwhelmed by cruise tourism). Bali, described as a “plastic apocalypse,” topped the list, while Mount Everest made the “Perennial No List.”
According to Fodor’s, Kerala’s tourism surge has worsened the impact of natural disasters, particularly where development has obstructed water flow and increased landslide risk. The publication cited largely unregulated and unsustainable development that harms local communities and ecosystems. Kerala’s placement on the list considered the 2024 Wayanad tragedy, numerous landslides between 2015 and 2022, and the shrinking of Vembanad Lake (the backbone of Kerala’s backwater tourism) caused by floods, illegal construction, and unchecked tourism.
Safe Kerala campaign
Kerala quickly launched a ‘Safe Kerala’ campaign to restore confidence in its tourism industry. Soon after the Wayanad landslide, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Indian Parliament, appealed to tourists via social media to visit Wayanad. “It is important to note that the landslide was localised to a specific area in Wayanad, not the entire region. Wayanad remains a stunning destination and will soon be ready to welcome tourists from across India and the world with all its natural charm,” he posted on X. Kerala Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas viewed the subsequent uptick in tourism, particularly domestic travel, as encouraging. Kerala Tourism hopes to maintain this momentum.
The State government is now devising strategies to attract foreign tourists to north Kerala, where international arrivals remain low. Most foreign visitors stick to a traditional southern circuit: Fort Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, Alappuzha’s houseboats, and beaches like Kovalam and Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram.
Though Kerala’s natural disasters temporarily benefited neighbouring States, with many tourists choosing Karnataka’s Coorg, Gundlupet, and Mysuru, and Tamil Nadu’s Ooty and Kodaikanal after the Wayanad tragedy, visitors soon began returning to Kerala.
Tapping Southeast Asia market
To counter Colombo’s competition, Kerala must tap new foreign markets, particularly Malaysia, Singapore, and countries like Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
Sri Lanka’s tourism resurgence following years of economic instability and civil unrest has pushed Kerala to adopt innovative strategies to maintain its hospitality sector dominance. The two destinations share striking similarities: panoramic landscapes, pristine beaches, thriving wildlife, verdant hills, comparable cuisine, and climate. Sri Lanka’s impact on Kerala is evident in both destinations’ tourism statistics.
Tourist arrival statistics from Sri Lanka following the civil unrest of the early 2000s clearly indicate growing foreign preference for Colombo over Kerala in recent years, despite Kerala’s renowned backwaters and status as the cradle of Ayurveda (offerings for which Sri Lanka has no real alternatives). Foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka and Kerala stood at 6.54 lakh and 6.59 lakh respectively in 2010, barely a year after the island nation’s civil war ended.
Over the next decade, Colombo outpaced Kerala in foreign tourist arrivals, reaching 23 lakh in 2018 compared to Kerala’s peak of 11.89 lakh in 2019. Though Sri Lanka’s tourism plummeted to 7.19 lakh in 2022 following the 2019 Easter bombings, COVID-19, and financial crisis, it rebounded sharply to 14.87 lakh in 2023 and two million in 2024. Meanwhile, Kerala hosted just 7.38 lakh foreign tourists in 2024, barely above its 2010 figures. Interestingly, Indians now comprise the largest share of Sri Lanka’s foreign visitors, followed by Russians and Britons.
In a media interaction, Kerala Tourism Minister Mohamed Riyas acknowledged that Sri Lanka’s main advantage is its superior air connectivity. As a country with a national airline, Sri Lanka connects Colombo to cities worldwide. Meanwhile Kerala, a small Indian state, has direct flights only to West Asia and select Far Eastern destinations. This is Kerala’s biggest shortcoming.
However, Kerala Tourism has set a target of regaining the pre-pandemic figure of 11.5 lakh foreign tourists by 2026. The first major step toward this goal was the launch of the Look East campaign in April 2025 to attract visitors from eight East Asian countries, including China. As part of the initiative, a 90-member delegation toured the State. The delegation comprised social media influencers and 40 outbound tour operators from China, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Laos. The campaign has already boosted arrivals from Malaysia and Singapore, aided by their direct flight connectivity with Kerala.
The State government has approved delegations to attend B2B meetings and tourism fairs in South Asia, as well as trade fairs in Singapore, Thailand, Germany, Australia, and the U.K. Tourist arrivals from Malaysia, Singapore, and Russia have increased in recent years, with 40,197 Malaysian visitors in 2019, followed by 35,066 Russians and 11,883 Singaporeans. Kerala hopes to tap Southeast Asian markets through improved flight connectivity and strengthen its presence in international markets to reinforce the message that Kerala is safe and ready to welcome travellers.
Experimenting new products
As Kerala campaigns aggressively to woo tourists back, the State must also experiment with new products and experiences. Whilst backwater and wellness tourism remain Kerala’s flagship offerings, the State has recently launched caravan tourism.
The caravan tourism project remains in its nascent stage and has yet to capture industry stakeholders’ imagination. Despite government incentives for investors, private sector response has been lukewarm — only two caravan parks have opened so far. Consequently, the Kerala government plans to establish 10 public sector caravan parks, bringing the total to 15-20 within a year.
The State government plans 10 new public sector caravan parks, targeting 15-20 facilities within a year.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Kerala will also launch a caravan app providing details on parks, vehicles, availability, and rental rates. The project, titled ‘Keravan Kerala’ and launched in 2021, stalled due to insufficient caravan parks in both sectors. The initiative aims at offering tourists a comfortable way to experience the Western Ghats and other eco-destinations from their caravans.
Cinema Tourism & Destination Challenge
Cinema Tourism envisaged by Kerala aims at tapping destinations depicted in popular Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi movies. The tourism department will identify these film locations and encourage visits by giving them a facelift.
The Destination Challenge is a Kerala Tourism Department project to develop at least one tourist destination within each local body’s limits, with costs shared jointly between the department and local bodies. This is expected to reduce pressure on existing tourist destinations. The State government recently gave administrative sanctions to develop 39 destinations across various local bodies under the project.
Apart from these initiatives, Kerala Tourism is introducing a gender-inclusive and women-friendly tourism policy, as close to 60% of tourists who visit the State’s destinations are women and children. This builds on steps launched in 2022 under the Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society to make the State a women-friendly destination. The Mission’s experiential tourism packages are popular among tourists, especially foreigners, as they allow cultural and economic engagement with destinations beyond mere sightseeing. Tourists actively participate in local customs, taste authentic village cuisine, and learn new skills to create deeper emotional connections with destinations and their people.
The way forward
Meanwhile, industry experts feel that rather than focusing on fancy services like caravan tourism and floating bridges, Kerala would immensely benefit from prioritising accessible basic infrastructure while preserving the natural charm of destinations.
Kerala could showcase its rich and living heritage through projects such as the Muziris-Spice Route Heritage Project, which features a wide array of heritage, archaeological, religious, colonial, and vocational sites along the Alappuzha backwaters and the Periyar river. Reviving this uniquely conceptualised project, now unfortunately on the back burner, would be the right step towards attracting discerning international travellers.
Further, better coordination between the Forest Department and Tourism Department to organise curated treks at ecotourism spots could attract foreign tourists seeking authentic, experiential engagement with destinations.
Kerala calling
Despite natural setbacks and global crises, Kerala remains a unique destination for all travellers. Its charm lies in offering new experiences that span unique cultural facets and the hidden gems of verdant nature.
This article is part of The Hindu e-book. Kerala: a model State’s paradox
