Kochi: The tourism industry in Kerala had successfully withstood the global financial crisis as the state had not experienced any major fall in the inflow of foreign tourists.
Speaking after inaugurating the seventh anniversary of the Kerala Home Stay and Tourism Society here on Friday, the minister said that both foreign and domestic tourist arrivals in the state remained high.
On the complaint by hoteliers that occupancy rates had declined, Mr. Anilkumar said that it was due to the exponential growth in the number of hotel rooms and homestay accommodation in the state.
A survey by the government had shown that the number of hotel rooms, homestay and service apartments had grown in the state substantially, he said.
There was nearly a 30 per cent increase in the number of rooms catering to the tourism sector, he said, and added that in a place like Ernakulam the number of rooms available was now in the range of 10,000.
The minister also said that the state tourism department was conducting an aggressive campaign to attract tourists from China and Sri Lanka to the state.
A delegation from the state had visited China recently while another had gone to Sri Lanka to explore ways to increase the tourist flow from these regions.
Tourists from these places often went to places like Delhi and Chennai. We are planning to develop special schemes to attract them, he added.
MLAs Dominic Presentation, Hibi Eden, Benny Behnan HATs office bearers PN Prasannakumar and TB Jagadeeshkumar also spoke on the occasion.
