The State Budget has introduced a novel idea of renting out unoccupied houses in tourist destinations in Kerala to tourists as holiday homes. Titled K-Homes, the project seeks to develop basic tourism infrastructure by maximising the utility of unoccupied homes. It will be implemented within a radius of 10 km around tourism destinations such as Fort Kochi, Kumarakom, Kovalam, Munnar, etc., in the first phase.
After reviewing the pilot project, the scheme will be implemented across the State. The project, according to Finance Minister K. Balagopal, aims to incorporate the lessons learnt from similar examples across the world in providing affordable accommodation.
In addition to providing revenue for house owners, this will also help in ensuring the maintenance and safety of the house. According to the 2011 census data, around 11.89 lakh vacant houses are in Kerala, and it is estimated to be over 15 lakh now.
The Budget has earmarked ₹5 crore for the initial project expenses. The prime requirement for attracting foreign tourists is the availability of quality hotel rooms. There is at present shortage of quality rooms to meet the needs of budget and luxury class tourists.
E.M. Najeeb, senior vice-president, Indian Association of Tour Operators, says the project sounds good. However, there are plenty of challenges in implementing the project by taking house owners into confidence.
The project also does not hurt hoteliers or homestay owners as the demand for quality stay is on the rise in view of the huge increase in domestic tourists visiting destinations in Kerala, says Mr. Najeeb.
He says the tourism sector has received due consideration in the Budget, citing the allocation of ₹50 crore for medical tourism. This has come on the heels of the incentives for medical tourism, including relaxation of e-visa norms, in the Union Budget.
As part of facilitating more hotels as well as hotel clusters, the Kerala Financial Corporation shall formulate schemes for providing loans up to ₹50 crore to construct hotels. A sum of ₹20 crore will be set apart for providing interest subvention for the scheme, according to the Budget proposals.
An amount of ₹20 crore is also set aside for the Tourism department for developing amenities at pilgrim tourism centres. The department has a total outlay of ₹385.02 crore, an increase of ₹33.6 crore from the previous year’s allocation.
Published – February 07, 2025 07:11 pm IST
