High airfares, e-visa issues hurdles to tourists during Onam season

Skyrocketing airfares are likely to be a dampener for the hospitality sector this Onam season, which used to witness an increase in tourist footfall.

Though the tourism sector is staging a comeback riding on domestic tourism after the pandemic outbreak, high airfares, a jump of 200-400% in popular domestic and international routes, and issues in granting electronic visas to tourists from countries such as the United Kingdom., Canada, and Saudi Arabia are dissuading visitors from travelling to Kerala.

Rupesh Kumar, coordinator, Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission Kerala, says though the sector has been doing reasonably well after the pandemic, the exorbitant airfares and restrictions in issuing e-visas to tourists from the United Kingdom have come as a blow as the U.K. contributes the lion’s share of foreigners visiting the State. Further, the high airfares on domestic routes will also force many to reschedule their itinerary, says Mr. Kumar.

E.M. Najeeb, senior vice president, Indian Association of Tour Operators, says, ”We took up the e-visa issue with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar when he recently visited Thiruvananthapuram. Saudi contributes the highest number of wellness tourists to Kerala whereas there is a steady leisure traffic to northern India from Canada and a small fraction of them used to reach Kerala.”

“We hope the sector will continue to grow with the support of domestic tourism,” says Mr. Najeeb, adding that despite the headwinds, the bookings trends in hotels are promising.

M.P. Sivadathan, director of the Kerala Homestays and Tourism Society, says some of the guests from the United Kingdom cancelled their trip at the last minute after realising the arduous process involved in obtaining an e-visa.

Further, the extreme rain events during August and September have added to the woes of tour operators. Major destinations in Idukki and Wayanad will be closed or there will be travel curbs if there is a red alert warning of heavy rain.

Tourists from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, undivided Andhra Pradesh, and Delhi top the list of people visiting the State. At the same time, the United Kingdom, France, United States, and Germany lead in the foreign tourism segment. Apart from them, a good number of Malayalis visit Kerala during the Onam season.