Trivandrum: The state attracted 159.69 lakh visitors from within the country during the first nine months of 2023, as compared to 133.81 lakh during the corresponding period last year, registering an impressive growth of 19.34 per cent, Tourism Minister, Shri P A Mohamed Riyas said today. The Minister was addressing a press conference regarding the forthcoming Tourism Investors Meet (TIM).
This shows an increase of 25.88 lakh tourists in the nine months of 2023 than that in 2022, marking a 21.12 per cent growth when compared with the pre-pandemic figures.
Ernakulam recorded the maximum number of domestic footfalls attracting 33,18,391 tourists, followed by Idukki (26,61,934), Thiruvananthapuram (25,61,787), Thrissur (18,22,020), and Wayanad (12,87,166).
“This steady surge in the tourist footfalls indicates that 2023 is going to be a record-breaking year in the history of Kerala Tourism as far as domestic visitors are concerned,” the Minister added.
The appreciable upswing also reflected the success of the upfront initiatives that Kerala Tourism has been taking, making tourism not only a commercial enterprise but also a sustainable and experiential pursuit, Minister Riyas pointed out.
Kerala also recorded an uptick in foreign tourist arrivals with their numbers pegged at 4,47,327 in the first nine months of 2023 as compared to 2,06,852 during the corresponding period a year earlier, registering a 116.25 per cent growth.
Ernakulam registered the highest number of foreign tourists with a figure of 2,04,549, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (98,179), Idukki (68,798), Alappuzha (19,685), and Kottayam (15,112).
Tourism Director, S Prem Krishnan; KTIL MD, Dr Manoj Kumar K and KTIL Chairman, S K Sajeesh were also present at the press meet.