‘The Challenge Is To Attract More High Spending Leisure Travellers’

E K Bharat Bhushan, principal secretary, department of tourism, Kerala, speaks about the consolidation process in various segments of tourism in Kerala.

What is main focus area of Kerala tourism, now?

Kerala is witnessing manifold increase in tourist flow, mostly from Germany, Britain and France. The key to this phenomenon is homestay, which enables tourists to stay with local people. Enthused with the success of the concept, Rajasthan too is ready to try the concept on an experimental basis.

Globally, homestay is not a new concept. Under this arrangement, the host provides accommodation to the tourist in his own house. This concept has been a major hit with the student community. In South Korea, homestay has become an industry, churning in revenues for its citizens.

The concept of homestay, is picking up momentum and the state is experiencing an increase in tourist inflow. The visitors are mostly from the West, who come and stay at the locales to get a first hand experience of the Malayalee lifestyle.

What is the kind of revenue generated from Homestays?

The state generated a revenue of Rs 992 crore (Rs 9.92 billion) from tourism last year, which is expected to increase by around 50 per cent in the next couple of years. It is, however, not known as to how much revenue is being generated through homestay.

According to you, what are the main problems faced by Kerala?

As far as Kerala tourism is concerned there are two major problem areas - air connectivity and insufficient rooms. Air India is not offering us great help but we are looking to strike up a good relationship with them. In addition, there are insufficient rooms in the five star category.

What are you planning to do with the shortage of rooms?

We are planning to add another 5000 rooms in the next one year. Apart from this, there are few incomplete projects comprising tourism projects, pilgrimage projects, which we are aiming to complete soon. There are several new properties entering Kerala. The Taj group has already made its presence felt here. Major players such as Hilton, Marriott, and the Oberoi group are all planning to establish a firm footing in Kerala. The state is focussing on high profile properties.

Creating awareness on the global and domestic arena about a destination has been the long standing practice by every state department, how long will this activity go on and by when do you think you would start reaping benefits? If you already have started reaping benefit, please elucidate.

This activity is an ongoing process just like marketing a FMCG product. It has to be followed aggressively on a consistent basis to have top of the mind recall. As a rule we try to put new light onto the brand without diluting the core value of the brand.

What challenges do you foresee in promotion of the state?

The challenge is to attract more high spending leisure travelers and thus increasing the average spends considerably. At the same time, we don't want to focus on the numbers alone.