Kerala Makes Massive Surge in Tourist Visits in 2025

KOZHIKODE:
Kerala made a massive surge in tourist visits in 2025 with a record 2,58,80,365 visitors flocking to the state during the year, marking an increase of 28,95,002 from the previous year, Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said here today.

The domestic visitors registered the largest increase of 12.46 per cent, totaling 2,50,58,366 visitors against 2,22,46,989 in 2024. Significantly, the 2025 domestic tourist visits marked an increase of 36.3 per cent from the pre-pandemic 2019, the Minister said.

During the year, 8,21,999 foreign tourists visited Kerala, which was 11.3 per cent higher than 2024.

The growth trend, maintained steadily in the last five years, shows Kerala’s tourism sector has made a spectacular comeback from the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in tourism sector the world over, the Minister said.

“Reviving the tourism sector completely ruined by the pandemic was one of the daunting tasks before the Government. Now, Kerala stands as a state that has been steadily improving its record in tourist visits in the last five years,” Riyas said.

The state also recorded over 11.3 per cent increase in foreign tourist visits, despite geopolitical turbulence affecting different parts of the world, Riyas said.

The big surge in tourist visits during the past five years vindicated the meticulously crafted initiatives carried out by the government for firmly positioning the state as an all-weather experiential destination, Riyas said.

“The resurgence of tourism sector gives cheer to the entire Kerala society as it has brought benefits down to the grass roots level” he said.

In 2025, Idukki recorded the highest footfall of 46,79,800 followed by Ernakulam (44,29,899), Thiruvananthapuram (43,75,846), Thrissur (31,24,696), Wayanad (14,73,710) and Kozhikode (14,69,253) districts.

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, were the top states other than Kerala, that contributed significantly to the domestic visitor footfalls in Kerala.

The UK, The US, Oman, Germany, France, Malaysia, Australia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Canada dominated the foreign visitors to Kerala in the year.

Ernakulam district witnessed the highest number of foreign visitors’ footfall followed by Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, Alappuzha and Kottayam.

The number of foreign tourists is yet to reach the pre-Covid levels due to various reasons including the warlike situation prevailing in various parts of the world, the Minister said. It is, however, significant to note that Kerala has been making steady progress in attracting foreign tourists despite geopolitical turbulences, he said.

“The achievements in tourism sector owe greatly to well-planned initiatives of Kerala Tourism. The focus of the government’s strategy has been to turn the entire state into an integrated tourist destination, strengthened by novel initiatives and innovative products. In near future Kerala will become a tourist state, the Minister said.

As part of this strategic shift, many new destinations have been identified and developed across the state. Also, a string of projects to increase tourism infrastructure were implemented during these years. As a result of these concerted efforts, Kerala is now firmly marked in the global tourism map.

The Government has taken forward projects in the sector with the goal of turning tourism into a major contributor to the state’s economy, he said.

Renovation of rest houses has greatly improved the availability of quality accommodation at affordable rates. This has been especially so in the case of the Malabar region. Various northern districts, including Kasaragod, saw increase in tourist accommodation facilities, including five-star hotels. The improvement in roads made tourism destinations easily accessible, enabling Thrissur, Wayanad and Kozhikode especially, to make massive strides in tourism.

The growth of Kerala Tourism has also brought benefit to all sections of people. Tourism has become a key component of local economic development.

Tourism stakeholders are largely instrumental in the state making major strides in the tourism sector. Also, the people of the state contributed substantially to the tourism sector by warmly receiving the guests, besides serving as the ambassadors of tourism at the grass roots level, he added.