When the State closed down itself for the visitors with the pandemic outbreak, a handful of villages abutting the Vembanad lake in Kottayam, kickstarted work to open up themselves to the guests.
From mapping their tourism potentials to developing destination codes and training the local community, the programme extended over several months. And by the time Kerala gradually reopened to the guests, the region has rebuild the model of its tourism business in a more greener and sustainable fashion.
About two-and-half years on, Kottayam now stands as the district with the most number of villages that have developed the capacity to share its life experiences with the guests. Additionally, Vaikom town and nine panchayats adjoining it too are being developed under a programme for People’s Participation for Planning and Empowerment through Responsible Tourism or PEPPER.
Travellers, mostly foreigners, have started to trickle into these locations, looking to experience the life in these villages rather than just sight-seeing.
The new model, according to K.Rupesh Kumar, Coordinator, Responsible Tourism Mission Kerala, has matched the theme of Rethinking Tourism as upheld by the World Tourism Day on September 27 this year .
“Even as the UN World Tourism Organisation is making calls for integrated working models of local community, entrepreneurs and local self-government bodies, we have already established this successfully in an array of villages,” he noted.
The trend of mass tourism, in his opinion, is making way to experiential visits in a big way during the post-pandemic period. “This change is discernible from the massive response to the experiential packages by the RT mission after the reopening. The RT units in Kottayam alone have generated about ₹3.38 crore during this period, he added.
Attesting to this changing focus of destinations and guests from mass tourism , the hospitality sector in the region too has embarked on rebuilding its business model by embracing carbon-neutral growth.
“Tourism in the lakeside villages here is in for a major change with the focus shifting from just boating and allied activities. People are now looking to explore everything from the local culture to ethnic cuisine and have started interacting with the local community in a big way . This shift, meanwhile, has also resulted in a significant extension in their length of stay,” noted K.Arun Kumar, secretary, the Chamber of Vembanad Hotels and Resorts(CVHR).
