Kerala to host Onam celebrations virtually amid COVID-19; to 'promote domestic tourism'

In light of the COVID-19 travel restrictions announced, the Kerala Tourism department will now be celebrating Onam virtually. Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas on Sunday, August 8, said that the department would celebrate Onam online this year in order to promote domestic tourism. The state, with the giant virtual celebration, will look to bring together Keralites all over the world amid the pandemic.

Kerala tourism to host virtual Onam celebrations

Explaining the decision to hold a virtual Onam celebration, Mohammed Riyas said that the state government is looking to revive the ailing tourism department. As part of this new initiative, Kerala's arts, culture, food varieties and prominent tourist destinations would be showcased virtually for both domestic as well as foreign audiences using various visual media. The celebration event, which will look to increase the department’s online engagement will be inaugurated on Saturday, August 14, by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The virtual event will have the many celebrations of the traditional Onam. There will also be a ''world flower arrangement competition'' as part of this initiative, the minister said. The online registrations for the competition will commence from Tuesday, August 10. As part of the competition, Keralites all over the world can upload their 'Onampookkalam' on the Tourism department's digital platform and win prizes. The Tourism minister also informed that the virtual Onam celebration was picked up by the government after having to cancel all celebrations last year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Minister Mohammed Riyas also said that the virtual Onam is bound to convert every Keralite in the world into a brand ambassador of the state’s tourism sector.

Tourism department to launch an app for identification of unexplored destinations

The Tourism minister, Mohammed Riyas while informing the decision, said that the state government is in plans to revive the ailing domestic tourism. The department is currently finding new ways including the identification of unexplored tourist destinations in various districts and collating them on an app to increase tourist engagement in the state. The department plans to put Kerala back on the tourism map of the world. The minister said that meetings have been held at the panchayat level in all the districts regarding the identification and development process of such unexplored tourist destinations. Panchayats have also been advised to produce maps for the same, which will be uploaded on the app for the traveller’s ease.  

According to the Tourism minister, the tourism sector suffered a loss of Rs 33,000 crore from March 2020 till December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, the foreign exchange earnings also dropped by Rs 7,000 crore, forcing the government to come up with innovative ways. The number of tourists visiting the state, both domestic and foreign, has also been in the fall since 2016.

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