Kerala government expecting Rs 1000 crore private investment in state’s tourism sector.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 18:30 Hrs [IST]
By TBM Staff | Thiruvananthapuram

In a written reply to K M Mani of the Kerala Congress (Mani) and others, Kerala Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan today informed the State Assembly that the government was expecting Rs 1,000 crore private investments this year in the tourism sector in the state. Balakrishnan said the main areas of the private investments would be hotel industry, amusement parks, tours and convention centres. He, however, admitted that the global economic recession had affected the tourism sector, particularly the flow of foreign tourists and revenue from them.

According to statistics of foreign tourists visiting the state during the months between January and March this year, a decrease of 18.86 per cent was noted, compared to the same period last year, he said and added that it was also reflected in the revenue. However, during the same period an estimated 3.21 per cent of increase was noticed in the flow of domestic tourists, as against the previous year. Stating that there was an increase in the number of tourists, both foreign and domestic, the minister said a total of 20,60,737 tourists visited the state between January and March.