Tourism surges ahead for Trivandrum

Trivandrum maintained its traditional lead in the Tourism sector, as the statistics for 2007 were unveiled by the Tourism Department. It was no surprise that the district was by far the leader in attracting the premium foreign tourists.

Trivandrum attracted about 200,000 foreign tourists, up by a whopping 28% from 2006. This means that we attracted 38% of all foreign tourists who came to Kerala. It also accounted for 15% of domestic tourists.

The news comes as little surprise, especially after only Kovalam had a good season last year, with the other spots including Kumarakom, Cochin, Munnar and Thekkady having a dim season. As per this report in The Hindu: "Vacant rooms in hotels even in prime destinations during the peak tourist season — December 15 to January 15 — has caused panic in the tourism industry.

Rooms are available in Kochi, Kumarakom and Thekkady even for December 31, which earlier used to be sold out weeks in advance." It goes on to say, "... The only exception is Kovalam."

Kovalam and Trivandrum have focussed on the premium segment, the one least likely to be affected by economic factors. So as a recession threatens to take hold of the US and the global economy as a whole, it is likely that Trivandrum will weather this storm the best.

And thus, it is only to be expected that top hotel chains including the Marriott, Accor, Hilton, Intercontinental, Taj Hotels and so on are all queuing up to set up properties in Trivandrum. Hilton has already announced a 200 room property while the Marriott will operate the hotel within the Trivandrum International Convention Centre, at Aakulam. Hilton & DLF have further plans as well, at Kovalam.

It would be a gross understatement to say that the months and years ahead will be an exciting time for the hospitality sector in Trivandrum. Stay tuned!