Affordable luxury tourism is gaining traction among travellers in Kerala as the State rebounds from post-COVID-19 period.
In 2021, the State government introduced two distinct tourism products to win the hearts of tourists and to diversify the State’s tourism landscape by attracting different segments of travellers. Caravan tourism introduced by Kerala Tourism was envisioned as a high-end, luxury tourism experience targeting affluent tourists seeking exclusivity and comfort. Meanwhile, budget tourism, coined by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), was designed to make travel accessible to all categories of people.
Four years on, the outcomes of two district initiatives tell a sharply contrasting story. While budget tourism has emerged as a roaring success, gaining wide acceptance and participation among the people across the State, caravan tourism continues to struggle to stay afloat, facing operational and market challenges.
The budget tourism cell of the KSRTC has netted a cumulative revenue of ₹106 crore till January 2026, with the highest annual operational revenue of ₹42 crore in 2025; of this, around ₹17 crore constituted profit.
Among the various types of tourism services offered by the budget tourism cell, the most popular is pilgrim tourism service, which clocked a revenue of ₹5.71 crore in 2025. The pilgrims’ services included Nalampala darshan, Pancha Pandava temple darshan, Attukal Pongala, Thiruvairanikulam temple festival, Kottiyur mahotsavam, Kripa sanam package, Sabarimala pilgrimage, and Thirunavaya Kumbha mela. Even the newly added Kumbha mela package brought ₹55 lakhs in revenue to the ailing public utility.
