Tourism is back in business, bookings in full flow

Thodupuzha: Pooja season might just be the balm to the bruised tourism season post-Covid. Munnar, Marayoor, Thekkady, Vagamon, Kumarakom are some of the favourite tourist destinations in the Idukki-Kottayam stretch.

Since last week, Munnar is inundated with tourists. According to DTPC Survey, 10,000 visitors are coming in daily. They are expecting the numbers to get doubled in the coming days. All the hotels in Munnar are already booked for this weekend.

Tourists are already booking hotel rooms at Anachalil and Marayoor. The daily room tariffs at Munnar hotels range from 1,500 to 15k. When it comes to resorts it will be between 8k to 45k daily. Even boating at Thekkady also saw a rush of tourists. At Vagamon, 90 percent of the hotels have already been booked.

Having said that there are very few tourists from abroad and outside Kerala. Traditionally there used to be a rush of North Indian tourists during the Dussehra/October season. Tour operators have also called for plans to bring back North Indian tourists to Kerala. The tourism department has also taken this into serious consideration.

In Kumarakom also tourists are coming in hordes. There are around 980 rooms in this area that includes hotels, homestays, and resorts. And 60 percent of them have already been booked. They are hopeful of more bookings today and tomorrow. Daily room tariff ranges between 2k to 12k.

Even houseboats are also getting filled up with tourists. There are around 110 houseboats in this zone. The sudden rush of tourists has also helped in giving more sales to the shops in these areas.