Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 14 (IANS): Tourism in Kerala collected record revenue last year touching Rs 36,528.01 crore. There was an increase of Rs 2,874.33 crore in 2018 compared to 2017.

"The number of tourists who visited Kerala almost touched half the state's total population. An impressive growth achieved despite the century's worst deluge," said State Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran.

The final figures released by the Kerala Tourism here on Thursday showed that over 16.7 million tourists visited the southern state in 2018 as against 15.76 million in 2017, recording an increase of 5.93 per cent.

Of the total footfalls, 1.09 million were foreign tourists, whose revenue touched Rs 8,764.46 crore, during the period that also saw a spurt in domestic tourists numbers.

Domestic tourism sector saw footfalls exceed 15.6 million, showing an increase of 6.35 per cent.

British guests accounted for the highest foreign visitors of over 200,000 followed by Americans, French, Germans and Saudis.