The long line of tourists are back at the houseboat terminal in Kottayam, while the local businesses have mostly reopened. Houseboats are cruising along the backwaters and the canal banks, and tree-lined pathways are once again bustling with visitors.
A few months since the pandemic wave subsided, it’s business as usual for the lake-side destinations from Kumarkom to Vaikom. The summer holidays have provided a welcome boost to tourism here, with almost all hotels and home stays booked to capacity and just about all of the houseboats reporting full-scale operations.
According to K. Arun Kumar, secretary, Chamber of Vembanad Hotels and Resorts (CVHR), majority of the hotel and resort operators here have witnessed a near-100% booking since the second week of April. “Groups from North India are coming in frequently, either as business tours or family groups,” he said.
The hospitality industry remains hopeful of building on the momentum once the foreign clients begin to flow in just as in the pre-pandemic times. “The current spate of bookings is expected to last till the end of the summer holidays. From there on, we will need foreign clients to push on,” added Mr. Kumar.
Experience packages
The village-life experience packages offered by the Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission Kerala too have been of great demand. “The agri-tourism networks are drawing good business among the domestic visitors, while we are also handling some foreign guests,” said K. Rupesh Kumar, Coordinator, RT Mission.
Besides the famed attractions across Kumarakom and Aymanom, visitors have now begun trickling into the interiors of adjacent villages such as Maravanthuruth and Vaikom.
The 120 houseboats and the 100-odd shikara and motor boats, which play a key role in the tourism eco-system of the region, too have commenced full-scale operations. The rising fuel costs, however, have dealt a major blow to the boat operators.
“In order to bring the business back to normal, we need manpower. But, at the same time, there is still not enough demand and money to do all this,” pointed out a houseboat operator. According to him, many workers in the sector changed careers during the pandemic and are unwilling to return.
The outbreak of COVID-19 since March 2020 has dealt a huge blow to the village destinations, which witnessed massive cancellations of hotel and holiday packages. Barring a few interludes, the location continued to experience a zero-demand situation, which also affected the the local economy and left the tourism stakeholders from top to bottom high and dry.
