#VisitWayanad, a social media campaign to woo tourists back to the hill district after the landslides on July 30 has been taken up by the stakeholders in the sector.

The stakeholders including homestay owners, traders, vehicle operators have joined together for the campaign in the wake of massive cancellations of bookings in hotels, resorts, homestays etc. They pointed out that the landslides have hit only two wards in Meppadi Panchayat, but it has affected the entire tourism activities of the hilly district with an estimated ₹20 crore loss in revenue in less than a month.

Meanwhile, at a meeting in Kozhikode, Kerala Tourism Minister, P.A.Mohamed Riyas said that the State is launching a campaign in Bengaluru with focus on tourism in Wayanad to sustain travel and tourism in the hill district which was impacted by the landslides. Cinema houses in Bengaluru will display advertisements featuring Wayanad tourism, while the FM radios will feed news related to the natural beauty and hospitality facilities.

A similar campaign was taken up in 2021 to woo tourists from Bengaluru to Wayanad, a weekend destination for tourists from the neighbouring State, he said.

The Minister said that the disaster has affected Wayanad’s tourism sector in several ways, pausing all economic activities across trading community to resort owners. The government is making all possible steps to revive tourism in Wayanad, he added.