theme song of kerala tourism

• Aug 26, 2023

What's the story behind Kerala tourism's tagline 'God's own country'?

The tagline "God's Own Country" for Kerala Tourism was coined by Walter Mendez, the National Creative Director of Mudra Communications in 1989 at the request of the Tourism Department, Government of Kerala. The tagline was inspired by the state's natural beauty, its lush greenery, its backwaters, its hills, and its beaches. It is also a reference to the state's rich cultural heritage and its diverse religious traditions.

The tagline has been very successful in promoting Kerala as a tourist destination. It has contributed to raising awareness about the state's beauty and its numerous attractions and drawing in tourists from around the globe.

The tagline has also been credited with boosting the state's economy. The tourism industry is now one of the significant contributors to Kerala's economy.

Here are some of the reasons why Kerala is called "God's Own Country":

Its lush greenery: Kerala is known for its lush greenery. The state is home to many forests, including the Western Ghats, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Its backwaters: Kerala is also known for its backwaters. The backwaters are a network of canals, lakes, and lagoons that are located in the state's coastal areas.

Its hills: Kerala is also home to many hills. The hills are a popular destination for hiking, trekking, and camping.

Its beaches: Kerala also has many beautiful beaches. The beaches are a popular destination for swimming, sunbathing, and surfing.

Its rich cultural heritage: Kerala has a rich cultural heritage. The state is home to many temples, churches, and mosques. It is also home to many festivals, including the Onam festival, Kerala's most important festival.

Its diverse religious traditions: Kerala is a secular state with a mixed religious population. The state is home to Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Jews. The tagline "God's Own Country" is a fitting description of Kerala. The state is a beautiful and diverse place with a rich cultural heritage.

It is no wonder that it is an extremely popular tourist destination across the globe.

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History Behind Kerala Tourism’s campaign of “God’s Own Country”

With  God’s own country  campaign, Kerala Tourism linked the state with a concrete symbolic and emotional experience through a story.  

Read all about it https://thestrategystory.com/2021/01/15/kerala-tourism-gods-own-country/

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Kerala tourism’s new theme song goes viral

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Kerala tourism has received a shot in the arm as its signature video has gone viral, securing more than 6.3 lakh views on its Facebook page, besides 21,000 shares in three days, after it got uploaded on keralatourism.org. Among the viewers’ comments, 60% were from outside the state, which according to the tourism department, is a positive indication of the rising popularity of Kerala as a preferred tourism destination.

Claiming that it’s for the first time that an official video, which is also projected as the theme song for Kerala tourism, is getting such a viewership, tourism director P I Sheikh Pareeth said that he was expecting it to cross 50 lakh in the days to come. “We have put everything that symbolizes Kerala, its nature, culture, people and art forms, together to make this musical video,” he added.

The 4.10-minute long video features a song `Muthalam mudithalam kaliyadum nade nin thunjathu…’ in Devagandhari raga, which one can relate to the `God’s Own Country’ and its `sopana’ music. “Giving music to these beautiful lines penned by Manoj Kuroor (a writer and a chenda artist) was a great feeling. He could give a rhythmic structure to each line, blending beautifully the traditions of Kerala. But the unprecedented hit on social media came as a big surprise for me,” said Sreevalsan J Menon, the music director.

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Kerala Tourism – God’s own country

I have traveled to Kerala multiple times on work, and my memories of Kerala had always been centered around the cuisine being the foodie that I am. However, it was in Kumarakom, while taking a vacation with family and friends, that the place completely took my breath away, and I started to relate to the famous tag line – “God’s own country.”

History Behind Kerala Tourism’s campaign of “God’s Own Country”

According to legends, Matsya Avatar, the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and Manu, the first man on earth and progenitor of humanity, were set in Kerala, thus affirming its status as the land of God. This status was further given a boost when in 1739, the then ruler of Travancore (now present-day Kerala), Marthanda Varma, decided to donate his realm and kingdom to the reigning deity, Lord Vishnu and announced that he would thenceforth serve only as a caretaker.

It was not too difficult for Walter Mendez and his team at Mudra Communications to take over from there to coin the now-famous tagline “God’s own country” for Kerala Tourism. This has easily become one of the most famous advertising slogans for any tourist destination and as destination marketing goes, Kerala has done a remarkable job.

Read: Top Brand Mantras and Principles of Brand Management

Kerala is blessed with breathtaking landscapes, from lofty mountains that spire upwards to break through the heavens to sun-drenched beaches repeatedly washed by laughing waves, from deep mysterious forests teeming with wildlife to placid backwaters meandering their way to the sea all evoking scenes of such unparallel beauty that you begin to believe in the catchphrase “Gods Own Country”. Not everyone can get away with such a boastful and smug statement if they weren’t confident of tourists walking away with wonderful memories after their holiday

This was when Indian families were breaking from the shackles a typical stereotype holiday, which meant visiting relatives or going to “home town.” This was also a time when a good section of the Indian population was getting the benefits of the economy opening up and more wealth in the hands of the average Indian. Indians now had that spare money and, more importantly, a mindset to reward themselves.  

Stories have enormous power. They generate empathy, are easy to remember, and most importantly are easy to share. With God’s own country campaign, Kerala Tourism linked the state with a concrete symbolic and emotional experience through a story.  

Leveraging the history while creating strong awareness of its current reality added authenticity to the campaign. Kerala tourism campaign made people a part of the culture/trend. Everyone now wanted to have tried the experience what Kerala Tourism promised. More the people came the more they wanted to share their experience with their friends and family, creating a ripple effect. Then the ads just became bragging rights. Travelers often feel proud of their journeys and sustainability often comes to play

Tourism is an antidote to Terrorism Amitabh Kant

This is classic destination marketing and Kerala Tourism seems to have done 5 things right

The product.

Emphasis on the natural beauty – Backwaters, mountains and beaches. The other factors that gave the state an additional boost are culture, food and more importantly – Ayurveda

Go to Market

The state managed to get all its stakeholders involved and energized. It is generally challenging to get the bureaucracy, especially in India, to cut through the red-tape and to align various departments onto one page apart from getting all hotels, restaurants, transport hubs, etc. to join in and wholeheartedly participate

Marketing strategy

Kerala Tourism participated in almost all the popular tourism trade fairs around the world. They then successfully convinced most of the tour operators to push Kerala as a destination. They also made sure that their communication was seen in all the major airports around the world.

Kerala Tourism also put a lot of information out there making it easier for a tour operator. This made them comfortable resulting in higher recommendations. (Remember this was still a pre-internet boom stage). They largely worked on ensuring perception met reality which is extremely important when it comes to tourism marketing. Check out below Kerala Tourism’s ad on Times Square.

Communication Strategy

Their communication strategy was brilliant: Breathtaking ads with stunning visuals were splashed everywhere – on TV, newspapers, magazines, and digital media. National Geographic even went as far as listing Kerala amongst the top 10 paradises on earth and one among 50 of the World’s top destinations.

After Lonely Planet called Kerala a true paradise on earth, there was no going back. Television shows and bloggers took over from there and influencer marketing helped in the influx of tourists, both domestic and international, into “Gods own country”

As Simon Sinek puts it “People don’t buy what you sell, they buy why you sell it”

Kerala Tourism did exactly that. They made people aspire to come to live a life of abundance. An abundance of beauty, food, culture, and experience for the soul. They effectively captured the audience’s attention by telling them why Kerala was the destination meant for them to take that holiday.

The message of the TV ad ‘Your Moment is Waiting’ is explained by Stark Communication

“It portrays the transformational journey of an evolved sensitive traveller through the landscape of Kerala — a journey that brings the traveller face to face with archetypal characters, her own self and her subliminal bond with nature. These are glimpses of delicate moments, and gentle epiphanies and deep insights that alter and enrich her.”

This new TV ad was a refreshing break from the beautiful but templated ‘beach, backwater and greenery’ theme.

Anyone who saw these ads took a vow to visit Kerala before they die. Travel to Kerala made it to the bucket list of most people who saw these communications. ‘Your Moment is Waiting’ won the Golden City Gate Award, dubbed the Oscar of the travel industry.

Stakeholder management

Stakeholder management was the key to the success as grandiose claims about a destination required someone to do the heavy lifting. Amitabh Kant who headed this initiative as Tourism Head got the project to slice through the clutter like the sleek Kerala racing catamaran in their famous boat races. He later went on to make “Incredible India” another destination marketing success.

Several state tourism boards tried replicating the same formula, but with limited success. The key element missing was stakeholder management and in some cases, they didn’t get the communication strategy right. They were unable to evoke the same aspiration that Kerala Tourism managed to imbibe into tourists. The usual destinations in India were Goa, Rajasthan, or Agra, but Kerala with its unique approach to tourism is a success story and how 0.5 million tourists a year to now a whopping 20 million a year is testimony to the brilliant marketing and advertising strategy of Kerala Tourism. Revenues from tourism jumped from INR 13,000 cr in 2008 to a whopping INR 45,000 cr in 2019.

The secret sauce that Kerala Tourism used was wellness brought about by Ayurveda that has now become synonymous with Kerala. This was a huge draw among tourists. With innumerable awards under its belt and having inspired all the tourism boards in India and abroad, Kerala Tourism realizing the need to constantly reinvent itself has now launched a new campaign to invite people over again, more so after the lull brought about by the pandemic. Welcome to Kerala: God’s own country

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Sundar Kondur comes with significant experience of spearheading sales and marketing in the media industry, He specializes in building brands and also selling to brands through storytelling. Storytelling blends real-life situations, experiences and weaves that into powerful learnings and thoughts that people can relate to. Sundar applies the logic of numbers with the magic of creativity to arrive at an optimal strategy to take on challenges, very often resulting in “Real Sales through Real Stories”. He enjoys collaborating with people from different industries to conceptualize creative marketing and advertising solutions and loves the fact that no two days are the same. My family and friends know me as a fun-loving and outdoors person, a lifelong foodie, who also spins stories.

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I am a reader from the corners, i read things that attract not only my attention but the way i seek any detail out of that craft does matters.I am absolutely impressed by the article written by Mr. SUNDAR KONDUR as i could find so much depth not just about the content but also how it has been given a twist to its tale and moulded like a storyline. Pictorials depiction makes you want to visit this place for sure. Truly the best article read for the day.

Thanks Pankaj. Appreciate your kind words. Do subscribe to TSS for great brand strategy stories.

Thank you Sundar Kondur for such an insightful story. A lot of unexplored facts and strategies been discovered. Specially the stakeholder management is a new learning for me. Kerala Tourism is a perfect example of a successful marketing strategy. The integration of Simon Sinek’s quote of “People don’t buy what you sell, they buy why you sell it” makes me speechless. One more important aspect that I have noticed after my tour to Kerala during 2018, a lot of feedbacks been asked by every stakeholders. Of course its quite common everywhere now a days, however the detailing of these feedback forms which I experienced after my Kerala tour was phenomenal covering almost every single touch poits that a tourist experiences. Which reminds me the famous qoute of Constantinos C. Markides, “Designing a winning strategy is the art of asking questions, experimenting and then constantly renewing the thinking process by questioning the answers. No matter how good today’s strategy is, you must always keep reinventing it.” Once again Thanks Sundar Kondur for covering so many unknown facts and Strategies. This story is indeed a huge learning for me.

Thanks Samrat. Appreciate your comments and am glad you had a personal experience exploring God’s own country. Cheers

Sundar is an Industry Leader and his insights into most things is exemplary . This post is possibly the best read on a narrative which encapsulates all the tenets of marketing . Kerala is indeed God’s own country and Sundar through this post has made it more refreshing . The lucid unjargonstic writing ensures ensures undivided attention to the last word. Thos forum is indeed privileged to get great contributors like SK ! Kerala rocks and so does Sundar

Thanks Ajay !! The narrative of Kerala Tourism lends itself to a success story. Appreciate your kind words

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Hanumankind's Big Dawgs Brings 'Mecca Of Kerala' Ponnani Into Focus With 'Well Of Death' Shoot

R apper Hanumankind, whose real name is Sooraj Cherukat, became a global sensation after his song Big Dawgs received a raving response upon its release on July 10. It has garnered over 57 million views on YouTube and currently ranks high on the list of global top music videos. It has also entered the Billboard Hot 100 list.

The song, penned and composed by the artiste, gained popularity for its political lyrics on the theme of identity and its creative music video set within a classic carnival attraction known as the ‘well of death’. Kerala Tourism has recently revealed that the music video has been shot in Ponnani, Kerala, leading to a lot of curiosity around the location. It is also called the Mecca Of Kerala.

How Big Dawgs makers used the popular well of death for shoot

According to Hanumankind, Big Dawgs music video was shot in a day. Inside the well of death, daring drivers ride bikes and small vehicles parallel to the ground on wooden planks. The production team urged the locals in Ponnani to delay the dismantling of the well of death by a few days so that they could shoot the music video there.

Interesting facts to know about Ponnani

The well of death, featuring stunt drivers, was once a mainstay in Kerala ’s vibrant fairs and festivals. Ponnani has long been considered a prominent scenic coastal town as it is bordered by an estuary on the northern side, backwaters in the south and the Arabian Sea on the west. Ponnani is also one of the major fishing centers in the district. During the months of February/March, thousands of migratory birds flock to this region.

The place has a long Islamic history. Kerala Tourism states that Ponnani was a favourite location for Arab traders 2000 years ago. It was also a chosen destination for many Muslim spiritual leaders who were instrumental in introducing Islam here.

Popular tourist spots in Ponnani

There is a 15th century mosque in the district, called the Ponnani Juma Masjid. It was built by Zainuddin Ibn Bin Ahmed, the descendant of an Arab theologian who landed on these shores. The Thrikkavu temple is situated near the Juma Masjid. It is said that they were built by a Hindu-Muslim duo who survived a storm at sea. They prayed that they would build a mosque and a temple side by side if they managed to reach land safely.

Biyyam Kayal near Ponnani is a popular lake destination for travellers interested in watersports. Boat race is conducted here annually during Onam celebrations. The pristine Padinjarekkara Beach, where the Bharathapuzha River joins the Arabian Sea, offers excellent boating facilities to visitors.     

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Wayanad tourism players counter govt narrative to avert 'premature death' of new lifeline

• Tourism is now 25% of Wayanad's GDP and helped increase residents' per capita income by 60% in 10 years, says industry players
• Stakeholders roll out data to counter minister OR Kelu's statement that tribespeople, farmers not benefiting from tourism

Wayanad: Sitting on her uncle's lap in the front passenger seat, two-year-old Naira Fathima is all smiles, enjoying the ride in her father's jeep. Behind the wheel, Naufal Kalladi has a lost look, but his lips curve up, almost reflexively, whenever Naira looks at him. It was a short, but now becoming frequent, trip for the father-daughter duo to the clinic in Chooralmala. "I think the sound of the big blast upset her. From time to time, after that night, she runs a high fever," said Naufal (32), a resident of Neelikappu, a residential street in Chooralmala.

But Naira's recurring fever is not the only thing troubling his mind. Naufal has been jobless since the landslides razed Mundakkai and Chooralmala and killed over 360 people on July 30. Naufal is among the 216 registered jeep drivers who plied their 4x4 jeeps at Thollayiram (900) Kandi -- a thriving tourist destination, 5km away from Chooralmala in Meppadi grama panchayat. They took tourists arriving at 900 Kandi on a 3 km off-road trip to the glass bridge, soft adventure park, and resort. On a regular day, each of the 216 drivers would get at least one trip to the glass bridge. They carried six tourists per trip, charging Rs 1,200, and the resort owner gave them another Rs 400 as commission. After expenses and maintenance of the vehicle, the drivers would take home around Rs 1,000 every day. However, the resorts in the disaster-hit panchayat are not allowed to reopen yet. Four of the 216 drivers died in the landslides and the rest are jobless, said Naufal, who lost his house under construction to the 2019 landslide in Puthumala, 2km from Chooralmala. "Now I take out my jeep only to go to hospital," he said.

Around 50 km away in Mananthavady, Wayanad Square Hotel lowered the tariff of its non-AC rooms to Rs 1,000 from Rs 1,400 even during the extended Independence Day weekend. "Of our 36 rooms, only three rooms are occupied and none of them are tourists," said Manu Mathai, proprietor of Wayanad Square on Thursday, August 15. "I got the three clients because my hotel is in town and people come for business purposes. But homestays and resorts across the district saw nearly 100% cancellation because the government and the media went to town saying the landslide destroyed Wayanad district when in reality it affected only Mundakkai and Chooralmala, two wards in Meppadi panchayat," said Mathai, who is also the district secretary of All Kerala Tourism Association.

Mathai said he knew the condition of homestays and resorts because he ran a laundry business, too, with 12 resort clients. "I get no business. Even when clients send their laundry, they have no rush to get it back. Before, they barely gave me three days," he said. Tourism players said they were not underplaying the humongous human tragedy in Meppadi panchayat. "But unlike the 2018 floods, which affected almost all 14 districts, displaced over a million people and destroyed houses, roads and bridges, here the destruction was confined to two wards though the number of deaths was almost the same," said Mathai. "We are talking of the livelihood of thousands of families," he said.

Tourism players particularly took exception to the messaging that the landslide affected the whole of Wayanad. "It will take a long time to undo such messaging," said Shylesh C P, secretary of Wayanad Tourism Organisation, an influential group of around 60 homestays and resorts. In 15 days, the local tourism industry suffered a loss of at least Rs 60 crore, he said. With no signs of bookings, losses would balloon and push tourism entrepreneurs into debt traps. On August 15, the Department of Tourism opened six of its 11 destinations. But the popular Forest Department-controlled eco-tourism destinations remain shut over man-animal conflict on the direction of the high court.

The tourism entrepreneurs — from the big hotels and small homestay owners to roadside eatery owners and taxi drivers — are livid for being branded as "mafia" and made the fall guy for the landslide or man-animal conflicts. Adding insult to injury was the statement of the Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes OR Kelu who hinted that the tribe communities, farmers and the poor of Wayanad did not benefit from tourism. "When one or 10 resorts come up in Wayanad, who are the people working there? I understand that most of the workers are from outside the district. I am not saying they should not work here. But are the indigenous people, farmers and the poor living here benefiting from tourism? I'm saying this not to create a controversy but to highlight the need for a study," Kelu, representing Wayanad's Mananthavady assembly segment, told Reporter TV.

The statement triggered a flurry of angry discussions in tourism WhatsApp groups in Wayanad. Several industry players said tourism now contributed to 25% of the district's economy, almost on par with agriculture. Ranjini Menon, who runs Turmerica, a six-room homestay at Chundale near Kalpetta, said of the around 800,000 people in Wayanad, around 125,000 people were involved in tourism, and the tribespeople came to around 150,000. "So it is evident that people from all sections are involved in tourism," she said.

Listing out the specifics, Menon said the employees at En Ooru, the first tribal heritage village in Kerala at Pookode, are tribespeople; Chekadi, a tribe majority village in Pulpally panchayat, is a sought-after tourist destination; Chettyalathoor and Nellarachal villages are all steeped in tribal culture and are benefiting from tourism, she said. "Their products and produce are branded and promoted at fairs and events," she said. The fame of archer K Govindan (73) has reached at least 65 countries, she said. Tourism fueled by small homestays is the single biggest reason for the decline of farm suicide in Wayanad, Menon told Onmanorama. "Homestays provide farmers with an alternative source of income even if their crops fail," she said. "We are not mafia we are farmers," she said.

To be sure, there was a series of farm suicides in the early 2000s and another in the first half of the previous decade. Tourism in Wayanad is an interplay of the Forest Department, Irrigation Department, KSEB, Tourism Department, big resort owners, small homestay owners, small and big restaurants and eateries, taxi drives, auto drivers, farm labourers, dairy farmers, vegetable farmers, electricians, plumbers, painters, gardeners, Kudumbashree, homemakers, the list is endless. "Tourism is for all of us. It is not just about big hotels," said Menon, an executive committee member of the Kerala Homestay & Tourism Society. "But whenever something goes wrong, Wayanad is singled out and a blanket ban is imposed. We saw that when the High Court shut down all the eco-tourism centres run by the Forest Department in February, during the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode, and now the landslide in Meppadi panchayat," she said.

AO Varghese, a retired police officer who runs Vythiri Eco Green Resort, a five-room homestay with a swimming pool in Vythiri, said people in Wayanad now have regular jobs because of tourism. "Take the case of the 300-odd jeeps catering to the two glass bridges at 900 Kandi. That is 300 families taken care of," he said. There was a time when Wayanad was a weekend destination. But after COVID-19, tourists have made it a round-the-year accessible destination with rooms and restaurants for all categories of travellers, he said. "Now the poor also pool in money and come in groups for a one-day visit or a one-night visit," he said.

The data attested to Varghese's observation. According to the Department of Tourism, in 2023, 1.75 million people visited Wayanad, taking the district to the top 5 destinations in Kerala, above Kozhikode and Alappuzha. The footfall saw a 53% jump from 2019 (pre-covid) and a 16% jump from 2022. Most of the tourists are from the rest of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, said Varghese, who has been running the homestay for the past 20 years.Seeing the potential of tourism, Varghese encouraged his son Jibin to pursue a course in travel and tourism and was running the homestay with him and his wife. But Covid-19 claimed his son. "Now this homestay keeps my wife and me engaged," he said. After expenses, he used to make around Rs 50,000 every month. But for the past 25 days, Varghese did not have any guests. "But I managed to convince a group of 30 Kudumbashree women to postpone their one-day trip to next weekend (August 24) instead of cancelling," he said.

The nearly 15-day shutdown triggered job losses. "I got calls asking if there are jobs in my hotel and laundry businesses," said Mathai. He said the government's alleged narrative that Wayanad was destroyed in the landslides is "unintentionally or intentionally benefiting only the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund", he said. "But the government should know our GST will be much bigger than what is sent to the relief fund," he said.

Another tourism entrepreneur, who employs 47 workers in his adventure park and resort in Vythiri taluk, was disappointed with the government's handling of the fund-raising campaign. "My June's GST alone could pay the salary of 15 government employees," he said, not hiding his anger. He paid Rs 5.83 lakh in taxes. The Wayanad Tourism Organisation is running a counter campaign on social media with the hashtag 'Visit Wayanad' telling the district is safe. "We mourn the loss of many and we appreciate the support that you offered. It's important to clarify that Wayanad is a district, not a town," the campaign said.

It is a vast area of 2,131 sq km with a population of 817,420 people. The landslide affected only two villages in the southern part of the district, covering 125.96 sq km, or 6% of the district. But the misconception that the entire district was affected by the landslide grew among the public, it said. "Wayanad's economy depends heavily on tourism. Most of the tourist destinations are now open and are perfectly safe to visit," the social media post said, and urged the people to "help Wayanad heal with your visit".

WTO repeated the message in its memorandum to Collector Meghashree DR. Despite the social media campaign, the perception among people will change only if the government goes out and tells the district is safe, said WTO secretary Sailesh.

What the stats say The state government's Department of Economics and Statistics do not collect data specific to tourism, said District Officer Sheena P. But the data on the primary sector (agriculture) and tertiary sector (services) will give a broad idea.  According to the data, a whopping 64% of gross domestic value added (GDVA) -- which is GDP minus taxes -- is contributed by the tertiary sector, which includes hotels, restaurants; real estate, ownership or dwellings & professional services; transport, storage & communications; financial services; public administration and other services.

Among them, hotels & restaurants and real estate, ownership or dwellings & professional services contribute 24.66% or Rs 31.65 billion to the district's Gross Domestic Value Added. The share is close on the heels of the primary sector, which includes agriculture, fishing and forestry (28%), and mining. (To be sure, mining & quarrying contributes only 0.24% to the GDVA of Wayanad.) In 2011-2012, hotels & restaurants and real estate, ownership or dwellings & professional services contributed only 17% to Wayanad's GDVA.

During the same period, Wayanad's per capita income increased by 60% to Rs 150,307 in 2020-2021 from Rs 93,559 in 2011-2012. Industry players attributed the income surge to tourism. Overall, Wayanad's gross domestic value added (GDVA) of Rs 128.36 billion in 2020-2021 is only 1.87% of the state's GDVA. The data establishes Wayanad as a financially backward district. "With no growth in the farm sector, tourism has become the proverbial straw farmers are clutching at," said Menon.

The ills ailing the industry Yet, all is not well with the tourism sector. All major tourism organisations and associations have a common complaint: to get all the homestays and resorts in Wayanad registered with a common agency. The government has zero data on the players in the district. Deputy Director of Tourism Prabhath D V said there were only 32 homestays and resorts registered with the department. Sailesh of WTO said that the Town Planner's report found 1,700 resorts and homestays in Wayanad but there could be at least 3,000 plus properties. Tourism consultant KR Vancheeswaran said the government should hire an independent agency to map the district and assess the carrying capacity of each area to regulate the flow of tourists and decide how many resorts and new buildings should be allowed in an area. Renjini Menon said small and medium tourism players respected no-go areas and ecologically sensitive areas and the government should strictly enforce the law.

Vancheeswaran, however, said homestays were not the reason for the landslides that hit Mundakkai and Chooralmala. "Among the houses destroyed in Mundakkai and Chooralmala, there would be only two homestays," he said. There were no houses in the first 2km of the debris flow. Despite tell-tale signs of a landslide, the failure of the government to evacuate the people downhill led to the massive loss of lives, tourism players said.

On Minister Kelu's doubts that tourism was not benefiting the tribespeople and farmers, Vancheeshwaran said the fruits of entrepreneurship would trickle down. "It's been just a decade and a half. Give the industry time. Maasai Mara did not happen overnight. Wayanad tourism should not have a premature death," he said. Wayanad Eco-Tourism Organisation President Sunny Mathew said the government's knee-jerk decision to shut down tourist destinations was the easy way out. "But that is not the solution," he said and added that the government has to invest in making destinations safe. "Because too many lives and livelihoods today hinge on tourism," he said.

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