The photo of a beach in Kerala shared by the Israel embassy in India on X
The beaches in Kerala received an unexpected shot in the arm with the Israeli embassy inviting its citizens to visit beaches in India, including in Kerala, in the wake of the Maldives banning the entry of people holding Israel passports.
The Indian Ocean archipelago banned Israelites in solidarity with the besieged people of Gaza over the war there.
A post shared by the embassy on the social media platform ‘X’ states that “since the Maldives is no longer welcoming Israelis, here are some beautiful and amazing Indian beaches where Israeli tourists are warmly welcomed and treated with utmost hospitality”.
The post also has photos of beaches in Kerala, Goa, Lakshadweep, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, recommending the beaches for their citizens based on the experience of its diplomats who visited these places.
Kerala once had a sizable Jewish population and has been receiving a significant number of tourists from Israel every year. For instance, 23,592 Israeli tourists visited the State in 2019, the highest tally in recent years. However, foreign tourist arrivals to Kerala have not picked up significantly after the pandemic, mainly due to the worsening geo-political situation and wars in various parts of the globe, including in West Asia, and the economic slowdown in many countries.
The high airfares have also contributed to the low number of foreign tourists arriving in India, says James Kodianthara, chairman of the Kerala chapter of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).
On the other hand, there has been a steady increase in Israelis visiting the Maldives in recent years, with 15,748 tourists visiting the island nation in 2022. Now, the cordial diplomatic relations that India maintains with Israel are poised to benefit the tourism sector in the country as a whole.
Kerala had for the first time attended the International Mediterranean Tourism Market in Tel Aviv in 2019 . It had also released a coffee-table book depicting the journey of Jews who chose to settle in Kochi and its suburbs before many of them decided to go to Israel later.
Although the majority of the Jews have now left for their country, their final home, their decades-old settlements here have left some indelible footprints on the history of the State.
