Kerala tourism minister PA Mohamed Riyas said that the state's tourism department would be celebrating Onam virtually this year due to Covid-19 restrictions. He added that the goal is to promote domestic tourism and bring Malayalees all over the world together.
Kerala's arts, culture, food varieties, and prominent tourist destinations would be showcased virtually as part of this new initiative. The event will be inaugurated on August 14 by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
A world flower arrangement competition will be held as part of the event. Participants can register for it from August 10. Malayalees all over the world can upload their 'onampookkalam' or flower carpet to the digital platform.
The tourism minister told the media that the government is working on reviving domestic tourism and is trying to identify unexplored destinations. The state will be collating these places on an app to bring everyone's attention to them. Meetings have been held at the panchayat level to identify unexplored places.
He added that the virtual celebration is aimed at making every Malayalee in the world a brand ambassador of Kerala tourism.
He stated that the pandemic, from March 2020 to December 2020, caused the tourism sector a loss of Rs 33,000 crores. Foreign exchange earnings went down by Rs 7,000 crore. He added that the number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, has come down tremendously since 2016.