Kerala Tourism's "God's Own Country" campaign centres four experiences — the Vembanad-Kuttanad backwaters, the Munnar–Wayanad–Idukki tea and hill country, the Kappad–Varkala–Kovalam beach coast, and Ayurveda wellness — all in a state of 38,863 km² with a single international airport in every region.
Kerala received 21.8 million domestic and 649,000 foreign tourists in 2023 (Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala). Alappuzha's houseboats on Vembanad Lake and the Kuttanad backwaters are the state's most-photographed experience; the National Geographic Traveler named Kerala one of the "10 paradises of the world" in 2007. The Munnar–Thekkady–Wayanad hill-country belt centres Periyar Tiger Reserve (925 km², one of India's 54 tiger reserves) and India's highest tea estate at Kolukkumalai (2,200 m). Kerala's coast has three notable beach clusters: Kovalam and Varkala (south), Cherai (Kochi) and Bekal (north). Ayurveda tourism is regulated by the Kerala state Green Leaf / Olive Leaf certification (over 300 approved centres). Kerala has four international airports — Thiruvananthapuram (TRV, 1932, India's first), Kochi (COK, world's first fully solar-powered airport, 2015), Kozhikode (CCJ) and Kannur (CNN) — more than any other state.
- Vembanad-Kuttanad houseboats
- Munnar & Wayanad tea country
- Kovalam, Varkala & Bekal beaches
- 4 international airports
Key facts
- Domestic tourists (2023)
- 21.8 million
- Source: Kerala Department of Tourism · 2023
- Foreign tourists (2023)
- 649,000
- Source: Kerala Department of Tourism · 2023
- Periyar Tiger Reserve
- 925 km²
- Source: NTCA · 2022
- International airports
- 4 (most of any state)
- Source: AAI
Tourism in Alappuzha
Alappuzha is Kerala's houseboat capital — 800+ Kettuvallam houseboats on Vembanad Lake and the Kuttanad backwaters — hosts the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race (2nd Saturday of August) at Punnamada Lake, and includes 4 major beach-and-canal towns: Alleppey, Marari, Cherthala and Ambalapuzha.
The Nehru Trophy Boat Race at Punnamada Lake, held on the 2nd Saturday of every August since 1952, is Kerala's premier snakeboat (Chundan Vallam) race, drawing 60+ boats up to 120 feet long with 100+ rowers each. The Kuttanad backwaters (part of Vembanad-Kol Ramsar wetland) are one of only three GIAHS-recognised Below Sea Level Farming Systems in the world (FAO, 2013). Marari beach north of Alleppey town is Condé Nast Traveller-listed as one of the world's "top 5 hammock beaches".