The Kerala government is set to launch a "tremendous" promotional campaign along with a bloggers' meet in Wayanad in the run up to the Onam season to dispel tourists' concerns that the scenic district was no longer safe in the aftermath of the recent landslides.
Kerala Tourism and Public Works minister P A Mohammed Riyas told PTI during an interview over the weekend that it was "sad" that the July 30 catastrophe in the northern district of the state was being called as "Wayanad disaster" while the fact was that it affected only one part of the picturesque destination.
"Chooralmala is only a place in Wayanad but due to this news spreading that it is Wayanad disaster, everyone is searching this on Internet and thinking something was happening in Wayanad. This led to bookings at resorts being cancelled there.
"The places that are best for tourism in Wayanad, and are about 50 km away from Chhoralmala, (even there) the bookings were cancelled. It is not right to say Wayanad disaster," he said.
More than 200 people lost their lives even as an equal number of body parts were found from under the debris and from rivers after the worst-ever disaster of the state destroyed large tracts of three Wayanad villages-- Punchirimattam, Chooralmala and Mundakkai apart from some in Attamala about a month back.
The disaster in Chooralmala is not only a "setback" to Wayanad tourism but Kerala tourism and we are determined to dispel this message, the minister said.
Tourism is one of the biggest revenue earning source for the south Indian state replete with beaches, hills, tea plantations and waterfalls.
Riyas said the places affected by the landslides are not the "top level" destinations in Wayanad. They are ranked at some 10th or 15th place...there are a lot of destinations in Wayanad, he said.
Riyas, also the son-in-law of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said his department was launching a "tremendous campaign" this month so that more and more tourists flock to the destination, blessed with natural beauty, during the upcoming Onam festivities.
He said they have spoken to the tourism industry stakeholders, resort owners and local vendors to launch a mega social media campaign where people from all walks of life and celebrities will be asked to post about their favourite destination in Kerala using the hashtag 'my Kerala is ever beautiful' in English and Malayalam.
"This campaign will boost the confidence for tourism in Kerala especially Wayanad. It will act to stress that nothing has happened to Wayanad. I along with my family will go to Wayanad and stay there," Riyas said.
As part of this campaign, the minister said, the government will also hold a bloggers' meet in Wayanad who will go to various destinations in the said district and other places and post videos endorsing the beauty and safety at these places.
He said Wayanad has been attracting higher number of tourists every year with more than 17 lakh visiting it last year as compared to over 15 lakh visitors during 2022.
Tourist inflow to Wayanad is now getting back to normal (after the landslides) and we are confident that by Onam (third week of September) Wayanad will be "same as it was" and by the vacations in December it will be a record number of tourists going there, Riyas said.
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