Kochi: The global COVID-19 pandemic had a severe influence on Kerala's economy, with the state's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growing at a negative rate in the 2020-21 fiscal year.

The state's growth rate was estimated to be -11.2 percent by the Economics and Statistics Department. The numbers also showed how important the tourist industry is to Kerala's economy.  The slowdown in the service sector, which includes tourism, has been blamed for the negative growth. Domestic revenue growth slowed from 6.2 percent in the previous fiscal year to 2.2 percent in 2019-20. According to early calculations, it fell even lower to -11.2 percent in 2020-21, the lockdown year.

Tourism, commerce, hotels, restaurants, bars, and other service industries account for up to 63.9 percent of the state's GDP. The contribution of the tourism sector alone would be Rs 45,000 crore, or nearly 10% of the economy. This revenue had dried up as a result of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.

COVID-19 also impacted the small and large-scale industrial sector, which accounts for 26.2 percent of total income. The industry, like the rest of the economy, has slowed and is now growing at a negative rate.

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