Seeing the immense growth of Kerala backwater tourism
in neighbouring destinations like Alappuzha,
the municipality of Eloor is also planning to achieve the same.
the municipality of Eloor is also planning to achieve the same.
According to its newest budget plans, the municipality has projected to
offer ‘river ship’ cruises to the tourists along the Champakkara and
Udyogamandal canals. The municipality hopes that river ships and luxury ships
could offer travellers an enjoyable tour around the region along the artificial
waterways just like those offered by the backwaters of Alappuzha and Kottayam.
As per this new tourism concept, the
river ships are far less susceptible to fires unlike the houseboats as they
come with an in-built fire fighting systems that are of global standards.
Frequent incidents of fire on houseboats were reported in Alappuzha recently
which had adverse effects on its tourism industry.
Joseph Antony, the chairperson of Eloor municipality said that the
Tourism Department are looking to endorse backwater tourism at other places too
as it was becoming a hard task to handle so many backwater tourists in
Alappuzha during peak tourism months . He further added that Ernakulam is a not
favourite among backwater tourists but the backwaters here too are beautiful
and worth visiting. Moreover, Eloor’s location in the vicinity to the
international airport could also considerably help backwater tourism flourish
here, added the chairperson.
However, the scheme is at its initial stage and there is still time for
it to become a reality. Though a small number of boats operate from the Eloor
jetty but the infrastructure here is yet to be developed to welcome mass
tourists, said Mr. Antony. The municipality is also expecting financial support
from the Tourism Department once it comes up with its final report on the
proposal, he further added.
Mr. Antony also assured that this ambitious project will also generate a
lot of employment opportunities for the locals.
