Kerala Launches Bio-bubble Model for Revival of Travel and Hospitality

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | August 11, 2021 | News

Kerala Tourism

With a view to insulate tourists from Covid19, Kerala Tourism has rolled out a bio-bubble model to create protective layers of mostly inoculated service providers to receive and host tourists.

The model forms part of a set of time-bound schemes for an early revival of the pandemic-ravaged travel and hospitality sector by turning all tourism spots into safe zones.  

These bio-bubbles are sanitised, safe and secure environments, informed an official statement, where people within them, likely to come into contact with tourists, are vaccinated. 

The protective ring will ensure that tourists landing in any airport in Kerala meet only vaccinated ground staff. From the airport, they can drive to their chosen destinations in cabs, provided by accredited tour operators, whose drivers are all vaccinated. The same goes for the hotels, resorts or homestays during their holiday, where the staff are vaccinated.  

All tourism centres in Kerala are now reopened and will be accessible to tourists who have had at least the first dose of Covid19 vaccine, or possessing a negative RTPCR test certificate taken before 72 hrs. This applies to hotels, resorts, homestays, houseboats and open spaces of tourist interest.

State Tourism Minister Mohamed Riyas said, “Safety of guests is non-negotiable as far as Kerala Tourism is concerned. The bio-bubble initiative is meant to ensure that the tourists have a risk-free stay in our state. This is a critical factor for revival of tourism, which has been clobbered by the pandemic. It was with this larger perspective that we successfully carried out the vaccination campaign covering the entire population in Vythiri. This initiative will tell the world that Kerala is a place where you can holiday safely.”

Dr Venu V, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Govt. of Kerala, said, “Kerala Tourism has outlived grim crises like devastating natural calamities like floods and epidemics that battered its infrastructure and economy. We have proved to be resilient by bouncing back from each crisis. Agreed, the Covid19 pandemic has been unprecedented in its sweep and dimension. The best way to come out of this pandemic-induced setback is to set the highest premium on the safety of tourists.”

VR Krishna Teja, IAS, Director of Tourism, Kerala, said, “The lockdown-weary people from all corners of the world will be treading to safe and healthy places when tourism opens up globally and nationally. Going by our natural assets and advanced social milieu, Kerala has immense scope to tap the incoming rush to unpolluted and less crowded spaces. Creation of a safety shield like the bio-bubble is a vital component in keeping the state tourism sector ready.”

Kerala had also launched a campaign to vaccinate the entire population in tourism destinations, with Vythiri in upland Wayanad being declared as the first destination to achieve the status. The drive aims to inoculate entire stakeholders in the tourism industry and the campaign will soon be completed in all tourist destinations across the state, according to the government.