Thiruvananthapuram: Here is the primary reason why Kerala Tourism wants more footfalls from the Middle East: The transcontinental region has four countries that are among the 15 richest countries in the world; Qatar (richest in the world), Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia. With tourists from the UK on the wane, and Russians proving to be low-spenders, rich Arabs are seen as the only group that could revive tourism in the state.
“Kerala has always aspired to be an elite destination. Its planners had despised the backpackers from England for their low-spending traits,” said Martin Joseph, a former tourism official who branched out into tourism entrepreneurship.
“During the early 2000s we had tried to woo tourists from rich European countries like Switzerland and Luxembourg but it did not work. Our attempt to woo Hongkong, another rich country, fell flat after Jackie Chan refused to play ball,” he added. Top tourism officials, however, say that there had been a gradual rise in tourists from Switzerland. The 10th largest contingent of foreign tourists landing in the state comes from Roger Federer’s land.
However, the Middle-East and the Gulf is not alien territory. “Kerala has historical links with these places, mostly because of the mass migration from the state. So the thinking is it will be easier to lure tourists from the Arab world than from European countries,” a top tourism official said. “Moreover, we have found that Arab tourists come in group and are long haul tourists, meaning they will stay for an average of eight to ten days in the state,” the official said.
Last year, the Tourism Department had launched a campaign called ‘Yalla Kerala’ targeting tourists from Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. “Many properties across the state have witnessed a reasonable increase in Arab tourists,” the official said. In fact, there has been a steady increase in Arab tourists ever since the UAE consulate was opened in the capital.
