Kerala, God's Own Counrty, continues to draw highest revenues to tourism industry

Kerala continues to be the most preferred destination for domestic as well as international tourists, a Kerala Tourism official said in Nagpur said.

The foreign tourist arrival in Kerala in 2014 stood at 9,23,366 which showed an increase of 7.6 per cent over 8,58,143 visitors in 2013. Similarly, the footfall of domestic tourists rose by 7.71 per cent at 1,16,95,411 in 2014 compared to 1,08,57,811 in the previous year, Deputy Director of Kerala Tourism department, Nandakumar K P said. He said with the rise in arrival of foreign tourists, the foreign exchange earnings for 2014 rose by 15.07 per cent at Rs 6,398.93 crore.

The total revenue from tourism during last fiscal (2013-2014) was estimated at Rs 24,885.44 crore which is an increase of 12.11 per cent. He said his department has declared the period of April 2015-March 2016 as 'Visit Kerala' year and has planned an array of activities for tourists. He said aggressive campaigns targetting potential travellers from the traditional markets will be conducted in United Kingdom, France and Germany through trade fairs and road shows while exploring the possibilities of attracting tourists from neighbouring China and Sri Lanka.

Leveraging the increased air connectivity, a focused 'Ayurveda' and 'monsoon' campaigns will be organised in Gulf countries where about 90 per cent of the diaspora are from Kerala.