Statistics Book 2007.pdf - Kerala Tourism

were designed for all segments and a pilot study is conducted among all groups at Kovalam for
experimenting the questionnaire. With the feedback obtained from the field, appropriate revision was
made and a final questionnaire prepared.
11.2.2 BACKWATER TOURISM
Executive Summary
Backwater tourism is a unique product of Kerala. The state is enriched with 44 rivers and a good number
of lakes including freshwater lakes. These lakes are the abode of backwater tourism in Kerala. Imbibing
indigenous technology, local water transport system and Kerala architectural style arrangements have
been made available to enjoy the serene beauty of backwaters as well as stays in houseboats with
modern amenities. It is no wonder that both domestic and foreign tourist are attracted to the houseboats
which provide them with unique experiences. In addition to this, various boat races also attract tourists
from far and wide. All this gradually led to the development of a new segment of tourism market in
Kerala focusing on the backwaters. Two major attractions of backwater tourism in the state are house
boats and boat races. While houseboats with several facilities are available round the year, the latter is
found only on specific occasions or periods. However, it is found that both domestic and foreign tourists
are interested in spending their leisure time in houseboats. As the influx of tourists to the backwaters
began to increase, Department of tourism, Government of Kerala made its intervention in this area by
introducing regulations and other stipulations for ensuring quality services to tourists as well as measures
for ensuring safety and security of tourists. Concurrently, since the backwater environment is prone to
pollution through tourism activities, regulatory mechanism for safe disposal of wastes were also introduced.
The registration, licensing and allotment of star categories, based on specific parameters have to be
viewed in this context. Essential and optional conditions are introduced for approval and award of star
categories. Today, houseboat as a tourism product is immensely marketed both at Alleppey and Kumarakom
in the state. Though houseboats are available in almost all districts in the state, Kumarakom in Kottayam
district and the Alleppey district are famous for backwater tourism in the state. Approximately 600 boats
of different varieties are deployed in these areas under single proprietorship / partnership and company
form. Notwithstanding the popularity of houseboats among tourist in these two destinations and the
introduction of various regulatory mechanisms by the Department of Tourism for streamlining the activities
and ensuring quality service to tourist, no earnest effort has been made so far to evaluate houseboat
operators in the state. Accordingly, KITTS was assigned the task of conducting an evaluative study of
houseboats in the state in 2007.
Methodology
The primary activity of the evaluation study started with a field visit to Alleppey which is a major
backwater destination in the state. During the field visit, besides office bearers of District Tourism
Promotion Council including its Secretary Mr. Vinukumar, some houseboat owners and elected
representatives of local self government were contacted to collect firsthand information about houseboat
operations in this area. Among other things it is found that we could collect only an approximate number
of house boats operating at Alleppey as the practice of obtaining registration is not strictly followed by
all. Keeping in mind the backwater tourism experience of the state, it was decided to conduct the
evaluation from two important destinations namely Alleppey and Kumarakom. It is estimated that
approximately six hundred house boats of various categories operate at Alleppey. Since premier, deluxe,
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