Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s proposed increase in infrastructure outlay to boost travel and tourism, especially for Lakshadweep, in the interim Union Budget may help the industry in Kerala too, reports suggest.
Kerala Travel Mart president Jose Pradeep welcomed the increase in outlay for Lakshadweep termed it a blessing in disguise for Kerala. A daily quoted him as saying that once infrastructure development takes place in the islands, people who go to Maldives or other island destinations will start preferring Lakshadweep.
According to Pradeep, since the islands are close to Kerala, people going there will include the state in their travel itinerary as well.
Similar thoughts were echoed by M P Sivadathan of Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society, who told the newspaper that Kochi will benefit greatly, and through that, other parts of Kerala will get attention too. Sivadathan stressed that Lakshadweep and Kerala offer different natural scenes to tourists. The state will spark curiosity in tourists using Kochi as a transit and prompt them to explore Kerala too.
However, there is some concern among certain sections that with the development in infrastructure, there will be an increase in the frequency of flights and ships coming to the islands. More people will flock to the place and this might burden the island’s ecosystem, they said.
