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Boby Kurian

BANGALORE, Nov. 7

IT has been on the cards for a while. Sri Lanka, slowly recovering from internal strife, may soon compete with Kerala in garnering tourist spend in the region. The Emerald Island, with cheaper tariff rates, is geared to give `God's Own Country' a run for its money.

The signs are already visible. Apart from luring international traffic, Sri Lanka is also casting a spell on India's domestic tourists. The travel desks in most metros have reported an increasing interest among Indians to holiday in Sri Lanka. Sources in Cox & Kings said Lanka has emerged as an alternative destination for domestic tourists hitherto consumed by Kerala and Goa.

"It is up-and-coming as an extended frontier of domestic tourism with the `feel good' factor of an overseas vacation. We now find that Sri Lanka is among the top three destinations for most domestic travellers," sources said. Incidentally, the renewed interest in Sri Lanka comes at a time when the absolute number of domestic tourists holidaying in Kerala has shown a significant drop in the current financial year.

Many travel firms that reported a 100 per cent jump in domestic traffic to Kerala over the last three years have seen only 40 to 60 per cent growth in the current year. But significantly, these firms have not suffered any slip in their domestic revenue from Kerala.

"If Kerala accounted for 40 per cent of our domestic revenues, it is almost the same this year. It only proves that the rates are moving up there and this is exactly what Kerala set out to achieve," a Cox & Kings official said.

Kerala has positioned itself to vie for the high-value tourists rather than fall into the trap of charted, low-spending traffic as is the case with Goa and some other South-East Asian destinations such as Thailand.

"If you are particular about good properties in Kerala, then your holidaying may be just as expensive as in Singapore or in some other evolved markets," an official with Traveljini, an ICICI venture focused on domestic tourism, said.

Though both Sri Lanka and Kerala are rich in natural bounty, industry observers said that the price factor could force the domestic travellers to opt for the Emerald Island.

For Instance, Cox & Kings' three-night Sri Lanka package of Rs 12,660 per person is almost comparable with rates in Kerala's "hot" properties. "A vacation for a couple in Kerala, say for four nights and five days, will cost anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000, and perhaps more depending on the properties. Moreover, Sri Lanka is an overseas vacation and has added prestige," they added.

Kerala, which, according to the latest estimates, is the favourite destination for over 65 per cent of the in-bound international traffic, is not complaining. But as Sri Lanka settles down on the road to peace and evolves a plan to attract the high-value tourists, the tussle with Kerala's tourism industry can only get louder.

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