India’s smallest Union Territory is the talk of the talk. It has quickly climbed to the top of must-see places, at least among Indian tourists. Lakshadweep caught people’s attention after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the island and posted stunning pictures last week. Then came the derogatory comments by Maldivian ministers, which sparked a diplomatic row, triggering angry Indians to “boycott” the island nation.
From celebrities to social media influencers, everyone is vowing to “explore Indian islands”. And Lakshadweep is dominating that list.
The archipelago, off the coast of Kerala, is less explored. Even Indians need permits to visit. But as interest in it has risen, Lakshadweep is gearing up to boost its infrastructure.
Also read: What led to the spat between India and the Maldives? What has happened since then?
Travelling to Lakshadweep
Indian airlines so far have a poor presence on the island. There was a time when Air India subsidiary Alliance Air had wet-leased 19-seater B1900 to reach Lakshadweep from Kerala’s Kochi, according to a report in Hindustan Times. Currently, the carrier operates six days a week with the ATR 72-600, which lands in Agatti Island. The flight takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes along a picturesque route which gives views of the island’s clear blue waters when descending.
Startup fly91 is expected to start operating flights soon. It has won routes under RCS-UDAN (regional connectivity scheme) from and to Lakshadweep.
Three ships run operations between Lakshadweep and Kochi and the journey by water takes about 14 to 18 hours, reports The Quint.
Also read: How PM Modi’s visit has been a blessing to Lakshadweep
A new airport?
The aircraft flying into the UT now land on the airstrip at Agatti Island. However, only narrow-body aircraft can fly here.
The Indian government is reportedly planning to build a new airport at Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep’s most populated, which is around 300 km from the atolls. It is expected to accommodate both military and civilian aircraft of the Airbus type, according to media reports.
The proposed plan includes a dual-purpose airfield which can operate fighter jets, other military aircraft and commercial planes, government sources told India Today.
The proposal for the airfield suggests that the operations will be led by the Indian Air Force. While it will strengthen the country’s surveillance capabilities over the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean region, it is also expected to boost regional tourism, the report says.
According to the ANI report, the Indian Coast Guard was the first to suggest an airport in Minicoy.
The proposed airport is expected to be strategically crucial, as the island is close to one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. It is located near shipping channel number 9, from where around 300 ships pass daily, reports CNN-News 18.
New resorts coming soon
There are a few resorts on Lakshadweep’s Bangram Island, Agatti Island, and Mincoy Island.
Now India’s big hotel chains are looking for more sites to build luxurious properties. The Taj Group has announced that it will open new hotels in Suheli and Kadmat islands by 2026, which will be developed by Indian Hotels Company (IHCL).
The Taj at Suheli, a ring-shaped island with a coral reef rim that surrounds a lagoon, will boast 110 rooms including 50 water villas and 60 villas on the beach. Resorts in the Maldives are famous for such luxury villas.
Kadmat Island is a marine protected area with seagrass beds, which are nestling grounds for marine turtles. The Taj property coming up here will comprise 35 water villas and 75 beach ones, reports Zee News.
Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and chief executive officer, IHCL said, “…We see significant potential in Lakshadweep, with its pristine beaches and coral reefs set amongst the Arabian Sea. The two world-class Taj resorts will attract international as well as national travellers.”
The upcoming resorts will focus on sustainable hospitality to create a minimal footprint and preserve the fragile ecosystem of the largely unexplored destination.
The rising demand
As Indians “boycott” the Maldives, the searches for Lakshadweep have surged. According to a PTI report, Google searches for the island are at their highest in the last 20 years.
MakeMyTrip, the online travel portal, said in a post on X that it witnessed a 3,400 per cent increase in on-platform searches on Lakshadweep since PM Modi’s visit to the island, reports The Times of India.
Even Ixigo, another travel firm, reported a similar trend. Aloke Bajpai, the co-founder and group CEO of the agency, wrote on X, that there was a 2900 per cent increase in searches linked to Lakshadweep in the last couple of days.
Alliance Air has all its Kochi-Agatti flights sold out until March.
Cordelia Cruises, the only cruise liner that has been ferrying Indians to Lakshadweep since 2021, has also seen a rise in demand. After PM Modi’s visit, the company has seen a 2,500 per cent increase in booking queries, reports Travel Trade Journal.
The cruises sail from Mumbai, Goa and Kochi and over 80,000 travellers visit the island via these ships every year. Since 2021, over 2 lakh Indians have vacationed on Cordelia Cruises.
“We are thrilled about the growing interest in Lakshadweep; we are committed to being an integral part of its growth story… We’ve witnessed a remarkable interest for Lakshadweep cruises, particularly the four-night and five-night itineraries from Mumbai, which echoes the public’s enthusiasm for exploring this idyllic destination,” Jurgen Bailom, President and CEO of Waterways Leisure Tourism Pvt Ltd, Cordelia Cruises, was quoted as saying Travel Trade Journal.
The fear of over-tourism
The Lakshadweep administration has taken measures amid the rising demand to make the trip easier for visitors. It has shifted the mandatory permit online and lifted restrictions on tourists in some areas, reports The Times of India. Earlier the process was longer but now the online permit ensures it is issued in two days.
Lakshadweep has prohibition but some parts of tourist areas are exempted and liquor is sold there.
But locals fear overtourism. Of 36 islands, 11 are inhabited and only four to five are open to tourists. “There are only 405 islands which are used for tourism. They cannot hold up more than 200 tourists at any given time. So, I don’t understand what purpose will upping the tourist influx serve,” a local hotel owner Abdul Rehman told The Quint.
Lakshadweep currently has the infrastructure to serve its 60,000-odd residents and a handful of tourists. In 2021, 13,500 tourists visited the island and 22,800 the following year. But that number is expected to surge and the expected influx will need an overhaul.
But Lakshadweep administrator Praful Patel said the administration was not worried about the inflow of tourists, as the island had sufficient infrastructure to handle them. He said that more resorts and villas were constructed on some islands.
“This will help with accommodation. We have received direction on the development of tourism, and we are working on that. Some islands are strategically important so to keep a check on that, the system that is there [of taking online permits] if it continues, then there shouldn’t be an issue…” Patel told News18.com.
During his visit to Lakshadweep on 2 January, the PM had said the Union Territory was “full of many possibilities” and had asserted the Union government was “working with full commitment for the development of the entire Lakshadweep, including Agatti”.
With inputs from agencies
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‘Chalo Lakshadweep’: How the island is bracing for a tourism boom
