The Impact of the Kerala Floods On Hospitality and Tourism
The floods in Kerala took place from July 2018 - August 2018, resulting in a death toll of over 400 making it one of the worst disasters in history.
Tourism in the state
As per the Ministry of Tourism, Kerala has 418 hotels and 12,672 rooms, 46% of which are in the premium (4-star and above) category. This apart, the state is a Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibition destinations for several Indian corporates. The state has a vibrant houseboat culture, which is part of the broader Kerala appeal and tourist loop. Several ancillary services like tourist guides, cabs, small tour operators and food and beverage outlets also depend on tourism-based revenue. Tourism accounts for 12% of Kerala's economy, 25% of the jobs in the state and the floods resulted in an 80% trip cancellations by tourists.
Impact on Tourism
Kerala is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India, especially famous for its ecotourism. The most popular destinations like Wayanad, Idukki and other high tourist regions were the worst affected. Festivals like the Onam celebration and the snake boat period were cancelled which were popular tourist attractions. The worst impact was felt in October which is the highest tourist season in Kerala. The whole industry impacted a 25% drop for the whole season.Damages and Financial Losses
Apart from its effects on local people such as floods resulting in people losing their housing and viral diseases etc, floods have resulted in a considerable amount of flight, hotel, and tour cancellations. As well, tourists who have been planning a future trip has changed their mind.
According Senior Vice President of The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), EM Najeeb, there has been more than 80 percent cancellations of tourist bookings in Munnar, Kumarakom and Idukki.
12% of the state's GDP is credited by the tourism industry. The outcomes of the flood have disrupted many local festivals and events like Onam celebration, snake boat race and others. The flood has also damaged the roads, airports and accommodation. Officials predicted that over 3 Billion Dollars would go into post-flood rebuilding.
Post Floods
Kerala's main goal was to restore normalcy but they had to fight and do everything in their power to get there.
Even as floodwaters receded:
-Too much damage has already been done to peoples’ lives and properties.
-The worst disaster they encountered since 1924.
-Flood wastes pose various threats to public health as well the environment i.e. contamination and pollution
-Flood waste may be contaminated by hazardous materials, sewage, carcasses and medical waste.
Kerala was generating more than 8,000 tonnes of waste per day before the floods.
The damage was severe so the volume of waste to be disposed of was a great deal.
How did they clear/reduce the floods? What provided temporary relief/solutions during these times?
-Dispose of debris in a structured manner
-Organic waste stored securely, temporary collection points, disposal sites for segregated waste
-Incinerators (500-700 degrees to burn organic waste) in factories nearby.
-Organic waste converters (OWC) could be explored. OWCs are rapid composting machines which convert organic waste into an odour-free mixture in 15 minutes and into compost in 10 days.
-Deployed waste trucks
Just a few short months after, the arrival of tourists had started picking back up from August 29. Bala Kiran addressed restoration of road links in the state at a press conference for the Travel and Tourism Fair.
"Airports, road and rail networks are operational. The fourth airport at Kannur in north Kerala will be opened soon," he said.
Munnar, Thekkady and Wayanad, which were affected due to rains and landslides, are now open for tourists and public as was Eravikulam National Park, he said.
About 60-70 of major tourist destinations have been restored and are backing to being operational.
Major attraction Neelakurinji – a flower which blooms on the Western Ghats once every 12 years -- has also started attracting tourists back to hill-stations of Munnar and Wayanad after the floods frightened them away.
The state is planning to conduct the Champions Boat League 2018 to showcase that the backwaters of the state are back to beauty and are filled with adventure activities as before
The Road to Recovery
According to Prasanth KG, working in the sales department of Starlit Suites in Kochi, they have 136 rooms in their property but after the flood their occupancy rates have been dropped dramatically the normal occupancy rate for their property was 100 rooms per month and after three months the flood hit Kerala their occupancy rates dropped down to 25 rooms per month.The road to recovery:
To recover from the damages of the flood and creating the tourism industry welcoming as ever resort and travel organizers are working on their marketing and branding strategies by bringing up attractive packages and offers. They have also taken help of lifestyle bloggers to promote the tourism industry of Kerala and they are promoting Kerala is now ready and safe to explore again to attract all kinds of tourist like national and international tourists. Kerala state government invited tour operator from Gujrat and Mumbai to organize tours and develop the tourist sites again so they can recover the tourist attractions because of the flood.
Various rescue operations were organized by Indian Army to rescue people stuck in flood affected area and volunteers and some volunteer organizations also came in support to help people by providing shelter and 3 meals a day warm clothing.
Still Rebuilding the province is a challenge in itself but they are trying to implement new policies and gather resources from neighbouring provinces.
At first, India refused any foreign help but after a while, they agreed to work with
United Nations and Red Cross and to support the tourism and hospitality industry again they
have some marketing organization to promote
United Nations and Red Cross and to support the tourism and hospitality industry again they
have some marketing organization to promote
their tourism one of them is https://mykeralahospitality.com/ on the website they show the
destinations in kerala.
destinations in kerala.
They also provide information about the hotels and places to stay.
So Far the province got 137 million dollars in donation from nationwide that includes
grants from the federal government and donations from various Ministers and the general public.
grants from the federal government and donations from various Ministers and the general public.
Kerala hospitality tour organization website
References
Al Jazeera. (2018, August 26). Tourism in flood-hit Kerala grinds to a halt. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/flood-hit-keralas-tourism-industry-grinds-halt-180826074147261.html
ICRA: Kerala floods drench tourism growth. (2018, September 19). Retrieved from https://www.traveldailymedia.com/icra-kerala-floods-drench-tourism-growth/
#KeralaIsOpen: Kerala Tourism better than before after the Floods. (2018, December 01). Retrieved from https://www.travelogyindia.com/blog/kerala-is-ready-for-tourism-season-after-the-floods
Abraham, K. (2018, November 27). How Kerala tourism is on the road to recovery after floods, Nipah Virus scare. Retrieved from https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/how-kerala-tourism-road-recovery-after-floods-nipah-virus-scare-92309
Abraham, K. (2018, November 27). How Kerala tourism is on the road to recovery after floods, Nipah Virus scare. Retrieved from https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/how-kerala-tourism-road-recovery-after-floods-nipah-virus-scare-92309
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think the biggest economic loss was?
2. What do you think hotel owners do to make their guest feel safe?
3. What would be the hardest thing to recover from the hotel industry?
4. How is this incident going to affect the future of tourism in Kerala and tourists' perceptions about Kerala?
There is no doubt that flooding is the responsible for not only extreme damage and destruction to property but tourist areas and the environment which incurs enormous costs for Government. However, the biggest loss to me Kerela faced, still facing and will face is the mind-blowing natural tourist destinations. For example, due to the recent flood taken place in Kerela, natural places like lakes were devastated and as a result, our next generation will not be able to see the original beauty of a place and at the same time, tourists will lose their interest in exploring those places damaged, ending up having a huge financial loss in tourism industry in that state.
ReplyDeleteMd Sohrab Miah (300978019)
Tourism matter to much in hospitality industry like some time environment causes the tourist which alternatively impact on hotel industry . For example in kerala hit with flood it cause heavy decline in tourist number in the hotels .That's why the economy of the hotels goes down . so tourism is very important . Ekjot singh gill -301017689
ReplyDeleteYeah you're right, tourism is a vital component in Kerala's economy. Environmental problems/natural disasters can greatly impact the hospitality industry and the revenue it brings.
DeleteI can easily imagine that it takes time to restore the destroyed buildings and transportation. However, I think that the hardest thing for hotel industry to recover from environmental tragedies will be regaining trust and reputation of the destination. No matter how hotels are ready to welcome guests again by reviving, it is difficult to change travelers’ impression of the devastated area. Especially, in terms of national disasters, nobody can expect when they will happen again, so many tourists may remove the destination from their planning list. Even so, Kerala has tried to recover by offering packages and promoting actively with the website called Kerala Hospitality. Kerala has considered the revive from disaster as a positive thing and used it like a slogan for promotion. I strongly realize that Kerala is one of the good examples of overcoming challenges to recover the trust and reputation.
ReplyDeleteSatomi Kaneko (301038869)
The biggest economic loss was flood damaged roads, rail-lines and airports in Kerala. The flood forced tourists to cancel their trips and it has brought loss to the hospitality business owners in the state.
ReplyDeleteMd Tarek Ahmad (301045798)
The flood really caused a huge economic loss for everyone affected by flood it made a big impact on their lives . It also left an impact on tourists.
DeleteThe hardest thing to recover is the infrastructure facilities that was destroyed during the flood and also to ensure the tourist that Kerala is safe for tourism.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm Nigli (300984586)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe current incident is going to affect the tourism in Kerala in a critical way. Now, due to the recent flood, tourists whom all thought of visiting Kerala would change their mind because they will think that visiting Kerala is unsafe now.This can bring huge losses to the tourism industry of Kerala.
ReplyDeleteDevajith Sreekumar Nair
301047758
yeah I agree since the impact is going to be long lasting and people will be extremely cautious, however I think with more and more promotion, tourists will restore faith in Kerala.
DeleteBecause of the destruction of the flood, the original natural beauty will disappear, which will greatly reduce the number of tourists. And people will worry that there will be another disaster, no one wants to travel to an unsafe place. It is a huge loss to the local economy and tourism.
ReplyDeleteTianyi Ding
300861022
yeah me neither, I totally understand why people would not want to take that risk. I wouldn't blame them.
DeleteI think the hardest thing to recover for hospitality industry would be the spoiled historical places because they are one of the main attraction for the tourists and anyone from hospitality industry cannot directly go and repair them only government can do so and that can be a major set back for industry.
ReplyDeletePrabjot Singh
301052609
Yes I agree with you it's tough to fix the historical places without the the government support. I think Indian government must also be making some plans to fix this problem.
DeleteThere are so many impact of environmental disaster on the tourism like it affects the economy of travel industry. due to environmental disaster tourist attractions get damaged or demolished. Tourist are hesitant to return because of the negative perception and perceived danger, so it is the biggest economic loss. if we see the incident of Kerala, people will take time to prepare their mind for visiting Kerala as they are hesitant to return with negative perception.Near future, people are less interested in visiting to Kerala. Damaged areas affects the interest of tourist.
ReplyDeleteRUPINDER KAUR
301052266
I can easily imagine that it takes time to restore the destroyed buildings and transportation. However, I think that the hardest thing for hotel industry to recover from environmental tragedies will be regaining trust and reputation of the destination
ReplyDeleteThe biggest economic loss was cause by the flooding which destroyed roads, airports, accommodation and destinations. Particularly in Kerala, the most popular tourists destination in India. Because of the floods, large amount of flight, hotel and trip cancellations was made by tourists. Government need to spend a lot on rebuilding and tourism industry also have to accept the huge loss of cancellation. In terms of what hotel owners do to make guest feel safe, I think provide the information of equipments that hotel will have to prevent the bad influence from flooding must be necessary.
ReplyDeleteKejia Cai 301004191