With the tourism industry struggling amid the ongoing pandemic, Kerala has found a way to invite travellers into the state with the promise of safety, courtesy of bio-bubbles. By Aneesh Kumar
With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a pause on tourism, Kerala has found a way to reopen the state for tourism. With its bio-bubble model, the state aims to create environments that ensure people residing in the state are safe enough to welcome tourists.
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A bio-bubble, simply put, is an environment that is created for, and accessible to, a certain set of people that have tested negative for COVID-19, so as to minimise the risk of an infection outbreak during the course of any event (tourism, in this case).
The bio-bubble in Kerala makes sure that the tourists arriving in the state come in contact with, and take services, from only the ground staff that’s been vaccinated, and head to their destinations via transport, whose drivers are vaccinated, too. The bio-bubble also ensures that the visitors’ accommodation—hotels, resorts or homestays—have staff that is vaccinated.
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According to a press release by Kerala’s Tourism Ministry, all tourism centres in the state re-opened on August 9, and are accessible to tourists who have received at least the first jab of a COVID-19 vaccine or are able to present a negative RT-PCR test report taken not earlier than 72 hours. These new guidelines, the release states, are applicable to all hotels, resorts, homestays, houseboats, and “open spaces of tourist interest.”
Initiated by Kerala Tourism Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas, the bio-bubble model is an amalgamation of well-planned schemes executed solely to revive the worst-hit tourism and hospitality sector, and works towards converting every nook and corner of the tourism spots into a safe zones for potential tourists. With this aim, the entire adult population of Vythiri in Wayanad was inoculated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the state aims to propel this drive to other tourist destinations as well.
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Asserting a decisive step towards tourism resumption, Riyas says, “Safety of guests is non-negotiable as far as Kerala Tourism is concerned. The bio-bubbble initiative is meant to ensure that the tourists have a risk-free stay in our state. This is a critical factor for the 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 [adult] population in Vythiri. This initiative will tell the world that Kerala is a place where you can holiday safely.”
The safety zones created with the help of bio-bubbles in the state allow vacationers a host of activities such as walking, stretching and basking on beaches, swimming in placid waters, trekking up forest trails, cruising on the backwaters, and sauntering through villages without fearing coronavirus.
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In a statement, Dr Venu V, Additional Chief Secretary of Kerala Tourism says, “Kerala Tourism has outlived grim crises such as 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 COVID-19 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.”
Related: Vythiri In Kerala Becomes The Nation’s First Tourist Destination To Vaccinate All Adults
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