‘Boycott Maldives’ opens doors to Lakshadweep’s fortunes!

Team Udayavani, Jan 9, 2024, 5:30 PM IST

Manipal: The “Boycott Maldives” social media trend and the outpouring of Indian sentiment has now opened the door to Lakshadweep’s fortunes.

Prime Minister Modi walked on the beach of Lakshadweep and shared beautiful photographs of himself and Lakshadweep on his X account. As some ministers of Maldives criticized this, the campaign “#BoycottMaldives, #VisitLakshadweep” surfaced.

As a result, not only did the number of Google searches for Lakshadweep increase; but there has been a considerable spike in the number of calls to the Lakshadweep tourism office about tour packages. Before the Prime Minister’s visit and campaign on social media, the office received roughly 10 to 20 calls per day inquiring about Lakshadweep tour policy, package, and other details. It has now increased several times.

Demand for bookings too

Abdul Jalil, an official of the tourism department of Lakshadweep, spoke to “Udayavani” and said, “True, the demand has increased after PM Modi’s visit. Earlier 10 to 20 inquiries were received. But now more than 250 to 300 calls are coming in per day. Apart from this, the number of bookings has also increased.”

“This is a good trend, an opportunity to grow domestic tourism. The department is also making appropriate arrangements,” he added.

A journalist working in Lakshadweep Abdul Salam, was asked if he expected this growth.  “The demand was expected to rise. But it has grown more than our expectation,” he replied.

“It is a joy to see people have turned to domestic tourism after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. However, Lakshadweep needs to be equipped with more basic facilities to meet future demand. Until these facilities are provided, it is more appropriate to encourage the cruise industry,” Abdul Salam suggested.

According to Abdul Salam Lakshadweep needs upgrade to its basic facilities. “Also, very importantly, air and ship connectivity to Lakshadweep should be increased. That is the work that needs to be done first… Until then, it’s best to be on the island all day and stay on the cruise ship at night. Then the lack of infrastructure will not be felt,” said Abdul Salam.

Meanwhile, there are fears, especially among locals that an influx of tourists may harm the beauty of these coral islands. Little islands are the beauty of Lakshadweep and steps should be taken to protect them. Steps are needed to ensure that tourism does not harm the natural beauty of the islands, as is the case with several other tourist destinations, they said.

Topping the Google search trends

Lakshadweep has been at the top of Google search trends for the past 2 days. In addition, searches about Lakshadweep on travel search-related websites have increased more than 3 thousand times.

Kochi is the only way

At present, Lakshadweep has to be reached through Kochi. There are four ships and one flight every day. It takes about one to one and a half hours by air, while it takes about 14 to 18 hours in an air-conditioned ship. There are direct flights from Kochi to Agatti and Bangaram islands. Only Agatti Atoll has an airport. Those going on a trip to Lakshadweep are required to obtain the appropriate entry permits from the Lakshadweep administration office in Kochi.

-By Aravinda Navada