Kerala suffers 80 percent tourism cancellations, government says overall loss due to floods is Rs 8,316 cr

Thiruvananthapuram: Floods due to the unprecedented monsoon fury in Kerala have wrecked the tourism industry and seriously impacted the plantation sector, which are among the major revenue sources for the state. Just as the tourism industry was recovering from the cancellation of bookings at hotels and resorts following the Nipah outbreak, heavy rains and floods came as a huge blow, say industry sources. [caption id=“attachment_4961071” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rescue operations in Idukki being carried out following a landslide. PTI[/caption] The plantation sector is estimated to have suffered huge losses due to the landslides and flooding that have claimed 39 lives and rendered over one lakh homeless in the latest phase of monsoon rains since early this month. The picturesque high-range districts of Idukki and Wayanad, the most sought-after destinations by tourists, are among the worst hit. Landslips are continuing in various places and many pockets of the two districts are still flooded and the road network also affected. According to Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Senior Vice-President EM Najeeb, already 70 to 80 percent cancellations had taken place in Idukki, Munnar, Kumarakom, which are among the most preferred destinations by domestic and international tourists. The loss was being assessed, he said. According to a 2017 report of the State Planning Board, the share of tourism in Kerala’s Gross State Domestic Product is about 10 percent. The downpour has played spoilsport for the tourism department’s plans to organise the famed snake boat races, which have mesmerised visitors for ages, under a new league. Snake boats or ‘Chundan Vallams’, in local parlance, are canoe style boats which are 100 to 120 feet long and hold up to 100 rowers. The Champion’s Boat League on the lines of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and other sport leagues was supposed to have kick-started from 11 August this year. The annual Nehru Trophy boat race, expected to mark the beginning of the league in Alapuzha, had been postponed in view of the natural calamity. “We will find a new date. The government is presently busy with relief and rescue operations due to the floods and landslides in various parts of the state,” Kerala Tourism Director P Bala Kiran told PTI. The rains would also dampen the proposal to organise feasts at homes of people in villages for tourists under the Responsible Tourism Mission of the Tourism department during the annual Onam festival next week. Another casualty of the incessant rains is the blooming of ‘Neelakurinji’ flower in the hills of Munnar, a once in 12 year occurrence which attracts large number of tourists. The floods and landslides have wreaked havoc to the plantation sector in the hilly regions of the state which produces spices, rubber and tea. Idukki, once known as the spice capital of the world, produces over 12 varieties of spices, including pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and turmeric, which are largely exported. The loss suffered by tea, coffee, cardamom and rubber planters due to the rains since the onset of the South West Monsoon on 29 May has been pegged at Rs 600 crore, secretary of Association of Planters of Kerala Ajit BK said. The estimated loss of tea plantations alone was between Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore, he told PTI, adding around 100 acre had been lost in landslides and flooding of tea fields in Wayanad. In case of cardamom, around 40 percent of the crop loss was estimated in Idukki and Wayanad districts. Due to heavy winds at the start of the monsoon, standing crops were damaged and 25 percent of the area needs re-planting, Ajit BK said. According to Spices Board sources, there is a roughly 35 to 40 percent loss of cardamom and pepper in Idukki according to feedback from farmers. Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala, is the time when consumer durable companies flock the state for sale of their new products, but retail sales were likely to be affected this year due to the rains. The state government has put the overall loss suffered by the state so far due to the floods at Rs 8,316 crore.