Facing the brunt of climate change in the last few years, the last being the calamitous landslides in Chooralmala and Mundakkai in Wayanad district a couple of months ago, Kerala’s administration understands the need to be better prepared for the future and making key industries more resilient. As part of the Rebuild Kerala programme launched after the worst ever floods in its history in 2018, the government incorporated the elements of climate change resistance in the construction of roads, bridges and buildings, said K Biju, IAS, secretary – tourism and PWD, Kerala. The tourism industry stakeholders need to be educated about it yet, he said, interacting with media on the sidelines of the 12th Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) in Kochi.Unlike disasters reported from other states, especially in the Himalayan region, Biju said that incidents that were happening in Kerala were not directly associated with tourism—illegal or unauthorised construction, encroachments, etc. The natural disasters in Kerala were directly associated with climate change effects, he said. However, he admitted that highland destinations like Wayanad and Munnar, were facing carrying capacity issues which even the High Court of Kerala had directed to be studied. The tourism department was working in coordination with the Local Self Government Department (LSGD) and the police and Motor Vehicle Department to evolve proper regulations to check unbridled construction, traffic control, waste management, etc, the tourism secretary added.He said that steps were afoot to develop and open more exotic destinations in the northern part of the state for tourism. This would help in decongesting existing destinations. With the completion of the six-laning work of NH 66 in the state connectivity and accessibility to the region would be enhanced in a big way, Biju said, adding, “The project is expected to be completed by December 2025.”Meanwhile, air connectivity among four airports in the state—Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur—and Mangalore in neighbouring Karnataka would also make connectivity seamless in coming years, he added.Biju also expected the accommodation infrastructure in the northern part of the state, which is inadequate compared to central and southern Kerala, to improve in the coming years, as a number of established investors were now moving into the region. Trichur was slowly emerging as a hub for ayurvedic wellness retreats. Palakkad today had a 5-star hotel, he said.To a question on the status of the mega initiatives like caravan tourism, seaplane connectivity, etc, Biju said that they were in the process of redesigning and relaunching the Caravan Kerala programme in the next two to three months time after ‘course correction’. Similarly, after a long interval, Kochi would be hosting a seaplane demonstration and workshop in the first week of November, he added.
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