Statistics Book 2007.pdf - Kerala Tourism

Energy use is another field we examined. Diesel, kerosene, LPG and electricity are widely used in these
units. Diesel is used as substitutes in times of electricity failure. Use of solar energy is also promoted
with cent percent use seen in Palakkad district.
Regarding waste management, majority resort to traditional practices (75%) followed by recycling (10%)
and service of panchayath (10%). The traditional method is commonly practised as most of them possess
sufficiently large land area.
It is found that Grihisthali is visited mostly by foreign tourists and the maximum number of visits is seen
at Ernakulam district followed by Alleppey and Kottayam. As far as domestic tourists are concerned
Alleppey is the most popular destination. The average length of stay during season is worked as 3 days
for foreign tourists and 2 days for domestic tourists. Marketing is a major issue identified by the operators.
Majority units are linked with travel agency and tour operators, but could not manage to get sufficient
business. Publicity through various media is not seen so effective. Lack of effective marketing is identified
as a major hurdle for Grihasthali units.
A SWOT analysis conducted revealed that heritage factors which include historical importance,
architecture, ambience, and age of the building are identified as major strengths. Lack of proper
classification criteria and government policies are the major weaknesses. Invariably all of them report
that they are not in receipt of the subsidy announced by the government. Moreover, electricity is charged
at a commercial basis also. This is in turn impose a burden to the beginners. However, they unanimously
agree that there exists good potential to develop this segment of tourism in the state. This has necessitated
the need for capacity building to Grihisthali operators mainly focusing on the business of tourism as most
of the owners lack knowledge in tourism business.
201