Earlier this month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Indian archipelago Lakshadweep triggered an unexpected row that soured ties with neighbouring Maldives. It also set off a surge in tourist interest in the small island chain that has worried ecological experts and many locals.
On his visit to Lakshadweep - a federally administered territory that lies in the Arabian Sea, to the north of Maldives - PM Modi had announced a slew of development projects and shared photos of himself snorkelling and enjoying its beaches.
Three Maldivian deputy ministers made derogatory comments about him, sparking outrage on Indian social media and prompting many to highlight Lakshadweep as an alternative tourist destination.
It seems to be working - Google searches for Lakshadweep, which doesn’t often make it to primetime news, jumped to an all-time high last week. MakeMyTrip, India’s largest online travel company, said it saw a 3,400% increase in searches for Lakshadweep on its platform after PM Modi’s trip.
Praful Patel, the region’s government administrator whose controversial policies set off “unprecedented protests” from locals in Lakshadweep a couple of years ago, has welcomed the attention.
“The natural beauty of Lakshadweep carries immense possibilities for development of the tourism sector. The administration has launched several initiatives, including adding more rooms,” he told news agency PTI.
The Tata Group has announced plans to open two “world-class” resorts on two Lakshadweep islands by 2026 (the archipelago has 36 islands - only 10 are inhabited - spread over 32 sq km (12.3 sq miles)). The only airline that currently flies to Lakshadweep has started additional flights and another plans to launch a service soon.
But experts say Lakshadweep - famed for its picturesque silver beaches, crystal-blue waters and coral islands - cannot be developed into a massive tourist destination like the Maldives because of its small size and fragile ecology. Many locals also say that what they need is responsible tourism in which they are stakeholders, not large-scale development plans that will overturn their way of life.
“The main occupation of the people is fishing, coconut cultivation and coir twisting,” according to a government website, which calls tourism “an emerging industry” here.
Until the launch of additional flights, there were only two ways to reach the archipelago - a 72-seater plane operated by Alliance Air that flew daily from Kochi in Kerala state to Lakshadweep’s only airport on Agatti island, and ships from the mainland that arrived every four days.
Entry to Lakshadweep is also limited by permits issued by the administration.
“Transport, accommodation and land-based infrastructure are a huge bottleneck [to developing the islands],” says PP Mohammed Faizal from the Nationalist Congress Party, who is the only MP representing around 70,000 people in Lakshadweep.
“Bangaram, the island on which PM Modi stayed, has only 36 rooms [for tourists],” he says.
So, much of the territory’s current tourism operates through cruises - visitors from ships docked off the archipelago tour the islands during the day and return to the vessel to spend the night.