Kerala restarts houseboat service to boost tourism in the midst of Covid-19

The tourism industry in Kerala is booming, thanks to the return of houseboats after a long hiatus owing to the Covid-19 illness and shutdown.

"The Covid-19 restrictions stopped all boat services in Kumarakom for almost a year, now all are back for Christmas and New Year tourism season", said a boat owner.

"Houseboat tourism restarted after a long time in Kottayam as Covid-19 situation has improved after the pandemic but footfall isn't high. 70 per cent of tourists are from Kerala while the rest 30 per cent are from other states", said Sreekumar another houseboat owner. "I hope that the Omicron situation would be over soon and the tourism business will bounce back", Sreekumar added.

According to him, more Omicron infections resulted in a drop in bookings for houseboats in January. With the tourists, the houseboat owners adhere to all Covid-19 protocols. Following the outbreak, some houseboat owners regretted the lack of foreign guests in Kerala.