Tourism in Kerala

Kerala is famous for its backwaters, which are a network of canal, rivers and deltas that drain into the Arabian Sea. The major portion of this backwater is navigable and it connects the villages lying along and it is also used for transportation of goods and people. The largest stretch of Backwater is the Vembanad Lake and the major towns around which backwater activities occur are Alleppey (often called theVenice of the East), Kumarakom and Kollam. An overnight cruise in the traditional ‘House-Boat’ floating the serene backwaters is the dream of any tourist.

These house-boats have air conditioning and have comprehensive facilities and are often expensive targeting the premium travelers. Budget travellers have an affordable option in the regular ferry service between Kollam and Alleppy. This is a full day trip along the backwaters and normally has a group of around 20 people on the upper deck of the boat.

4.00 lakhs international and over 60.00 lakhs domestic tourist arrivals per year. The tourism sector in the state attracts about 1000 crores of investment per year and provides employment to over 10.

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00 lakhs persons. The income to the state from tourism was in the order of Rs. 7700 crores during the year 2005 with a foreign exchange earning of Rs. 1550 crores. Even though the state has about 50,000 rooms for tourist accommodation in different categories, there are only less than 10,000 rooms of good quality. Considering the potential and demand, it is estimated that there is a gap of about 5,000 quality rooms at present. The additional room requirement for the next 5 years will be another 10,000 rooms.

If we take the average investment requirement per room for developing a hotel/resort as Rs. 20.00 lakhs per room, the investment requirement in the accommodation sector for the next 5 years will be in the order of Rs. 3,000 crores which is very ambitious. It is necessary to find out ways and means of achieving the target in a cheaper way without compromising on the quality.

Kerala which has a mixture of Beaches, Backwater, Ancient Medicines, Natural wealth, Multicultural cuisines good weather and highly educated people makes Kerala irresistible to foreign and domestic tourist. In 2010 Kerala had 3.7% share of the total foreign tourist arriving in India. We can find out from the below table that how Kerala has grown since 2002 till 2010 in terms of
Number of arrivals and Foreign Exchange earned.

SWOT ANALYSIS
EVERY INDUSTRY HAS ITS OWN STRENGTH WEAKNESS OPPORTUNITY AND THREAT. THIS ANALYSIS HELPS THEM TO OUT GROW STRENGTH
1. ALL SEASON BUSINESS
2. ideal location
3. SEGMENTED TOURIST PACKAGE

WEAKNESS
Limited Personnel
A challenge to find employees who possess the necessary skills and customer-centric attitude. The struggle to continuously offer new and exciting trips

OVERCHARGING OF

THREATS
A slump in the economy will affect the travel industry.
An increase in terrorist acts, recession, and harthals will chill International perception of safety when traveling, The entrance of other service providers into Live Kerala niche.

Backwater tourism in Kerala.

Travel on Backwater Cruises in Kerala with Kerala Backwater and experience a delightful journey to a land where earth, sea and sky come together in harmony. The backwaters of Kerala are a series of interconnected waterways, lakes, inlets and riverine estuaries that form an intermeshed network along the coast of Kerala, India. The local people of the Kerala backwaters, travel on these waters and carry out their traditional occupations, such as farming and fishing onits fertile banks. The scenic beauty of the backwaters has also led to its being developed as a tourist destination in recent times. Traveling in the backwater cruise is very enjoyable. The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Seacoast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India.

The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range. The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. In certain areas, such as the Vembanad Kayal, where a barrage has been built near Kumarakam, salt water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes Vembanad Kayal is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 sq.km, and bordered by Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, and Eranakulam districts.

Backwater cruises in Kerala are carried out on large converted traditional boats. These boats called "Kettuvalloms"were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the Kerala Backwaters. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have a sleeping area, with toilets, as a dining area and a sit out on the deck. In house boats tourist can rest at ease on a houseboat at night and observe the beautiful countryside while sitting on the deck during the day. Food is cooked on board the houseboat by the accompanying staff. The facility available in the houseboats makes an atmosphere in which the tourist can have a relaxing time seeing the birds and aquatic life along the banks of the Kerala backwaters. Tourist can also see the local people in villages along the banks of Kerala backwaters carry out their daily routine of farming and fishing as they pass by on Backwater cruises.