THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first-ever 'turnaround of tourists' the state had witnessed in Kochi on November 28, the simultaneous two-way movement of tourists between a port and airport, was a sign that Kovalam's tourism fortunes could swing the right way in the coming years. Industry insiders feel that the Vizhinjam International Transshipment Terminal, now passing through its gestation period, could convert the beach destination into the hub of high-spending cruise tourists.
The tourist-starved beach destination is anchoring its hopes on the large cruise liners that will berth at Vizhinjam in the near future. As of now, medium-sized cruise liners make 'half-day halts' at the Vizhinjam port, primitive in its facilities, along their way to or from other destinations like Mumbai and Maldives. In February, for instance, the large cruise ship MS Artania with 650 docked off Vizhinjam. Only a small percentage of tourists who arrived in the ship forayed deep into the capital.
These half-day 'exploratory' affairs do not excite the local tourism industry. "The arrival of cruise tourists is not helping the accommodation industry as they are in the mainland for only a few hours," said Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry's Mr Mohammad Khan. However, it is felt that the infrastructure will become more cruise-friendly when the Vizhinjam terminal comes into being. At the moment the Vizhinjam port, which is bracing itself for bigger times, has primitive facilities.
