The East Asian connection to Kerala developments

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Tourist arrivals from East Asia as recorded in the government statistics has registered slight fluctuating trend during the period 1973-84. The traffic increased from 23808 in 1973 to 35773 in 1980, and showed a slight decline in 1981 registering about 35267 tourist arrivals. It again recorded an increase from 35267 in 1981 to 37861 in 1982. In Kerala ayurveda centers were a major attraction to these East Asian visitors and thus a majority of the visitors also frequented the state.

Tourist arrivals declined from 37861 in 1982 to 33644 in 1983, as a result of which the share of this region went down to 3.8 percent in 1983. Again in 1984, the traffic increased from 33644 in 1983 to 36292 in 1984. Consequently, the share of this region went up from 3.8 percent in 1983 to 4.3 percent in 1984. Even though the East Asian region has its own unique biodiversity, the health tourism option available at lower costs was a major attraction.

Tourist arrivals from East Asia increased from 23808 in 1973 to 33644 in 1983 recording a compound growth rate of 3.6 percent in comparison with the compound growth rate of 20.4 percent in West Asia, during the decade from 1973-1983. The country wise analysis of the East Asian market further shows that Japan is the greatest contributor to Indian tourism, followed by Korea, China and Hong Kong. Even now the Japanese arrive in droves at the main cultural centers and other historical monuments in the country.

Visitors from Japan showed a normal increase of 0.2 percent in 1982 as against a decline of 5.1 percent during 1981. Hong Kong also registered an increase of 13.0 percent followed by Korea (54.2 percent) and China (53.7 percent) in 1982 in comparison with 1981. A major marketing exercise is needed to attract more visitors from China and Korea. Even though the Korean multinational giants like Samsung and LG are making waves in the Indian consumer electronics market, Korean tourists are rarely seen. Similar is the case with that of China. Chinese companies want to assimilate the developments in the software sector in Bangalore, but fewer visitors actually venture out to other parts of the country.