Kerala targets 100M domestic and 5M foreign tourist visits over five years

Kerala’s tourism push—backed by new destinations, cruise and port integration, and industry-status incentives—could lift visitor-led demand for hotels, food service, airport retail and local consumer businesses across key destinations.

— Source publishedFri, 25 Sept, 2026, 20:21 IST·First seen Fri, 25 Sept, 2026, 20:34 IST·Source The Hindu BusinessLine

What happened

Kerala Tourism is targeting 100 million domestic and 5 million foreign visitors within five years, supported by cruise terminals, port integration, new

Key facts

  • Target of 100 million domestic tourist visits in five years
  • Target of 5 million foreign tourist arrivals in five years
  • 821,999 foreign tourist visits in 2025, up 11.33% year-on-year
  • 25,058,366 domestic tourist visits in 2025, up 12.64% year-on-year
  • 18 mini ports

Why this matters

Kerala’s five-year tourism target signals a need to expand hotel, food-service, airport-retail and destination capacity ahead of rising domestic and international visitor volumes.