The global economic slowdown has had no effect on tourism in India's smallest territory Lakshadweep islands off of the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea. Photo Credit: Lakshadweep.nic.inApril 27, 2009, (Sawf News) - The global economic slowdown has had no effect on tourism in India's smallest territory Lakshadweep islands off of the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea.
Lakshadweep is a group of islands 200 to 300 km off of the West coast of peninsular India with total land area of 11 sq mi or 32 km². Eleven of the 36 islands are inhabited.
Until recently only 11 islands were accessible to the tourists but now the government has opened all areas to the tourists.
While the tourism industry throughout India has been hit by a reduced number of tourists, Lakshadweep has largely escaped impact from the economic crisis. Tourism is the main source of livelihood for the locals apart from coconut and tuna.
October to Mid May is the best time of the year to visit the islands.
Lakshadweep officially consists of 12 atolls, 3 reefs and 5 submerged banks. The reefs are in fact also atolls, although mostly submerged, with only small un-vegetated sand cays above the high water mark. The submerged banks are sunken atolls.
Almost all the atolls have a northeast-southwest orientation with the islands lying on the eastern rim, and a mostly submerged reef on the western rim, enclosing a lagoon.
Agatti island is the only airport where there are direct flights from Kochi, Cochin and Bangalore. Tourists need a permit to visit the islands; foreign nationals are not permitted to visit certain islands.
There are around 5 passenger ships that operate from Kochi or Beypore (Calicut), but generally only two operate at a time. Weather can affect the sailing of the ships.
Consumption of alcohol is not permitted in the islands except on Bangaram Island.
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