Kozhikode: Kerala made a massive surge in tourist visits in 2025 with a record 2,58,80,365 visitors flocking to the state during the year, marking an increase of 28,95,002 from the previous year. This was announced by the Tourism Minister, Shri P A Mohamed Riyas.
Domestic visitors registered the largest increase of 12.46 per cent, totalling 2,50,58,366 against 2,22,46,989 in 2024. During the year, 8,21,999 foreign tourists visited Kerala, which was 11.3 per cent higher than 2024. The growth trend, maintained steadily in the last five years, shows Kerala’s tourism sector has made a spectacular comeback from the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in tourism sector the world over, the Minister said.
In 2025, Idukki recorded the highest footfall of 46,79,800, followed by Ernakulam (44,29,899), Thiruvananthapuram (43,75,846), Thrissur (31,24,696), Wayanad (14,73,710) and Kozhikode (14,69,253) districts. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal were the top states other than Kerala that contributed significantly to the domestic visitor footfalls in Kerala.
The UK, the US, Oman, Germany, France, Malaysia, Australia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Canada dominated the foreign visitors to Kerala in the year. Ernakulam district witnessed the highest number of foreign visitors’ footfall, followed by Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, Alappuzha and Kottayam.
The growth of Kerala Tourism has also brought benefits to all sections of people. Tourism has become a key component of local economic development. Tourism stakeholders are largely instrumental in the state making major strides in the tourism sector. Also, the people of the state contributed substantially to the tourism sector by warmly receiving the guests, besides serving as the ambassadors of tourism at the grassroots level, he added.