Express News Service
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The resurgence of the new Covid variant is casting a shadow on the booming tourism industry in Kerala. The news of Covid-related deaths and the growing number of cases have spread like wildfire on social media platforms, triggering panic among tourists.
While the tourism season is in full swing, the stakeholders are concerned about the reports on COVID-19 that portray Kerala as the hot spot of the new variant in the country. The Centre has also sounded high alert for Kerala and has given direction to all the states to scale up testing for COVID-19.
According to the stakeholders, the industry receives a high number of bookings in December and January. Indian Association of Tour Operators Vice-President E M Najeeb told TNIE that the tour operators are bombarded with calls from tourists during this time. “We met the tourism secretary and apprised him of our concern. The news about COVID-19 that is coming out is bad…