October 8 2023: Domestic tourist arrivals grew by 20.1% in the first half of 2023 in Kerala, creating a new record. 
A total of 1,06,83,643 tourists from within the country visited Kerala in the first six months of the calendar year. The figures in the corresponding period in the previous year stood at 88,95,593, according to the statement furnished in the state assembly by the Tourism Minister P. A. Mohamed Riyas. 
The state also recorded a surge in the number of domestic tourist arrivals compared to the pre-COVID period, Shri Riyas said. 
The number of foreign tourists in the first half of 2023 was 2,87,730 as compared to 1,05,960 during the corresponding period a year earlier. There was an increase of 1,81,770, and a growth of  171.55%. 
The state also witnessed a steady rise in revenue from the tourism sector from 2020 to 2022. The tourism sector pocketed a revenue of Rs. 35,168.42 crore in 2022 against Rs. 12,285.91 crore in 2021 and Rs. 11,335.96 crore in 2020, the minister said. 
Tourism Secretary Biju K. said that the surge in domestic tourist footfalls is a clear indication that 2023 will definitely be a record-breaking year for Kerala Tourism. 
The Tourism Director P. B. Nooh said the uptick in tourist arrivals also underscored the increased acceptance of new products and initiatives that the state had launched to woo visitors. 
The statistics compiled by the Tourism Department showed that Ernakulam topped the list of districts in domestic tourist arrivals with a figure of 22,16,250 followed by Idukki (18,01,502), Thiruvananthapuram (17,21,264), Thrissur (11,67,788), Wayanad (8,71,664) and Kozhikode (6,74,237).