The landslide-hit Mundakkai village in Wayanad district in the southern state of Kerala, August 1, 2024.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: In a big embarrassment for the Kerala tourism sector, an international agency has included the state among their list of destinations suffering from untenable popularity citing the landslides and backwater pollution.
US based travel guide and online tourism information provider Fodor has included Kerala in their 'No List' 2025 that cautions travellers. The back to back natural calamities, including the recent Wayanad landslide, and reports of pollution in the popular backwaters are cited in the report.
Kerala is the lone destination from India to be mentioned in the 'No List' published on November 13.
The 'No List' that came just ahead of the onset of the tourism season could be detrimental to the state's tourism, which offers livelihood to thousands and potential source of revenue for the state. Having suffered back to back setbacks over the last few years owing to the natural calamities and Covid, the industry was expecting to bounce back to the glorious years with intensive campaigns at the international level.
However, environmentalists have been constantly cautioning against the unregulated tourism activities.
The state government's tourism department as well as the major stakeholders of the industry seemed to be still unaware of the Fodor's No List, even as it is being widely circulated online.
Kerala tourism principal secretary K Biju and key industry body Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) office bearers told DH that they did not come across the report.
The report titled 'Fifteen destinations to reconsider in 2025' tells about Kerala that "the surge in tourism has exacerbated the impact of natural disasters, particularly in areas where development has obstructed natural water flows and increased landslide risks."
Citing the recent landslide at Wayanad, the report also states that nearly 60 per cent of India’s 3,782 landslides between 2015 and 2022 have occurred in Kerala, with the state becoming increasingly disaster-prone. The report also mentions the pollution of Vembanad lake, one of the major backwater tourism spots of Kerala as well as a Ramsar site. It also quotes studies and known environmentalists.
KTM's former president and known tourism entrepreneur Baby Mathew said that Kerala tourism was receiving good response at all international events including the recent World Travel Market in London. Special campaigns were also being held to counter the campaigns that the entire Wayanad is unsafe.
Following the steep fall in tourists to Wayanad after the recent landslide, Congress leader and former MP of Wayanad Rahul Gandhi had also launched a campaign that Wayanad is safe for tourists.