The Kerala government on Tuesday said that it had lost around Rs 1,000 crore in tourism revenue since the Centre launched its demonetisation drive on November 8, PTI reported. The state reported a decline in domestic and foreign tourist arrivals on account of the cash crunch created by the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

State Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said that there was a 10%-15% drop in foreign tourist arrivals, while domestic tourists numbers decreased by 20%-30% since November 8, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Centre’s decision.

Surendran said Kerala secured an average revenue of Rs 25,000 crore annually from the tourism industry. “The currency crunch arose during the tourism season itself and so, things went wrong to a great extent,” he said. The state’s houseboat business was “on the verge of collapse” and that tourists were not spending as much as they used to because of the cash crunch, the state minister said.