Thiruvananthapuram, June 1 ( IANS): Kerala witnessed a record increase in tourist arrivals in 2023, both domestic and international, rebounding strongly after back-to-back deluges and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the state Tourism Department.

Kerala registered 2.25 crore tourist visits in 2023, which was much higher than the pre-Covid level. This includes 2,18,71,641 domestic and 6,49,057 international tourists, demonstrating an "extraordinary comeback" after the challenges of the pandemic, as per the figures released by the department on Saturday.

After a 72.77 per cent slump in tourist visits during the peak of the pandemic and the lockdown in 2020, tourist visits grew by 42.56 per cent, beating all odds in 2021.

Tourist visits more than doubled in 2022 compared to 2021, when the numbers surged by 152 per cent.

In 2023, tourist arrivals witnessed a growth of 17.22 per cent.

There has been a major upsurge in domestic tourist visits in the state, showing a high and steady increase since 2021, the department stated.

From 75,37,617 domestic tourist visits in 2021, the footfall rose sharply to 1,88,67,414 in 2023. This was even higher than the highest previous mark of 1,83,84,233 tourist visits registered in the pre-pandemic 2019.