The Hindu Business Line : Kerala Tourism doing well: CII

Kochi, Oct. 30 The tourism industry of Kerala has registered impressive growth during the first half of the current fiscal. According to a bi-annual Industry Monitor Survey conducted across the top five sectors of southern States by CII Southern Region, inflow of domestic tourists to Kerala increased by 40-50 per cent while foreign tourist arrivals grew by 20-30 per cent.

Key sectors

The other key sectors under the Survey on Kerala included coir, chemicals and fertilizers, food processing and rubber. As a result of the surge in tourist arrivals between April-September 2007, increased occupancy levels and increased revenue to the tune of 20-25 per cent were evident.

The increased demand resulted in increased pricing by the industry at 10-15 per cent, which increased margins by another 15 per cent, the Survey said.

The industry employment level has also gone up by 15-20 per cent during the same period. Similar trends are expected to continue into the rest of the current year, which is also the peak tourist season for the State.

However, the CII highlighted the poor condition of Kerala roads as a major deterrent to both domestic and foreign tourists. Also, the unavailability of skilled manpower is becoming a major concern to the industry. The industry felt that the government should take up development of more hotels with 400-500 rooms. The promotion strategies also have to be redesigned to attract upmarket tourists.

Coir sector

Kerala’s coir industry, the leading producer of coir in India, has experienced improved performance during the current half year. The coir industry production has increased by 5-10 per cent and consequently, sales and export have also grown by 5-10 per cent and 15-20 per cent respectively.

As a spillover effect, the capacity utilisation level has gone up by 15 per cent. The value of production and inventory levels has increased slightly by 5-10 per cent.

The availability of raw material to the industry is one of the major constraints of the industry.