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Famed for its Dutch, Portuguese, and British colonial architecture, spice markets and iconic Chinese fishing nets, the picturesque Fort Kochi and Mattancherry areas in Ernakulam district of North West Kerala depends heavily on tourism.However, amid rising COVID-19 cases in Kerala this year, the area which draws tourists from around the world all through the year is struggling in their absence.Kerala Tourism one of the mainstays of the GDP of the state had suffered badly after the floods and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.Home to one of the earliest European settlements in India, the Fort Kochi area is still waiting for tourism to begin again in the region with the help of tall political promises.The Chinese nets, that make for a picturesque postcard of Kochi are facing the threat of extinction in the name of renovation. There are moves to remove it without even considering the Archaeological Survey of India in the name of tourism.Homestays are the main revenue for the unorgsed tourism sector here. A new homestay policy issued by the ruling Left government in which homestays is not considered in commercial purpose that been changed to domestic purpose.Joseph Dominic, the General Secretary of Homestay Owners' Welfare Association, Kerala says most of the homestays, hotels and restaurants had shut down due to the Covid-imposed lockdown.With a rise again in the number of Covid cases in the country, there are restrictions like mandatory quarantine for visitors from other states, which is not helping the industry.He suggests that the state government should consider vaccinating those in the tourism sector."Slowly, we are getting back on track. The state government should also consider the tourism sector for vaccination. It is a humble request, do not know if this is possible, but the government should consider some kind of vaccination programme for those in the tourism sector. If we are vaccinated, tourists will be confident to travel, come to our house and town", said the General Secretary."Right now there are no international tourists here but if we are talking about domestic tourists need the confidence to come back to the town," he said.According to homestay owner Preeti, the problem is also of finance."The main problem is finance. It has been almost a year and there is no business. We began in November but we're not getting many tourists. Only in weekends we get booking for one or two rooms," she says.Most people have taken loans. If we talk about taxes we managed for this year but do not think we will be able to manage for next year," she says.According to the ministry of health and family welfare, Kerala reported as many as 539 fresh COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths on Tuesday, the death toll has gone up to 4,507. Currently, the number of active cases stands at 24,389.K J Maxi is the sitting MLA of the Kochi constituency is recontesting in the April 6 Assembly polls and is contesting against former mayor of Kochi Corporation and Congress leader Tony Chammany fielded by the LDF.The BJP has fielded CG Rajagopal as its candidate from the Kochi constituency.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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Famed for its Dutch, Portuguese, and British colonial architecture, spice markets and iconic Chinese fishing nets, the picturesque Fort Kochi and Mattancherry areas in Ernakulam district of North West Kerala depends heavily on tourism. ...