For now, many are dependent on any kind of substitute employment available locally.
24-year-old Vineeth is a hotel management graduate from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram. But with the hotel industry severely hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, he now earns a living as a daily wager by cutting trees. He lost his job at a hotel in Kerala's tourist town of Munnar earlier this year.
"I have a one-year-old child. I hate doing this sort of work, but I have no other option for now." With Rs 900 per day, and around 10 days of work in a month, it's far from easy for Vineeth.
"I was laid off from the hotel where I used to work, because there were no guests at all. There's no other option for me as of now, so I am forced to do these small jobs available locally. I used to earn around Rs 12,000 a month in the hotel, now I hardly get work for ten days or so in a month," a dejected Vineeth tells NDTV.
Vineeth's friend, Renjith is working as a daily wager too. His monthly income is now around Rs 10,000 a month, half of what he would earn as a driver for groups of tourists on packages.
"I used to earn around Rs 20,000 a month. Now, I barely manage Rs 10,000 a month from my daily wages of around Rs 600. I have a loan, family needs, education of my two children. And this is the only family income. We've been hugely dependent on the ration we get from the government," Renjith, 34, tells NDTV.
At his workplace, which plans trips for tourists, jobs of at least 20 staff members and 12 drivers have been affected.
"It has been very hard for all of us. Where will the company get money from, if tourists are not coming? Most are surviving by taking to jobs like painting, tile work etc," Renjith adds.
Tourism in Kerala would contribute to around 10 per cent of the state GDP usually but industry experts say the sector is already looking at a loss of around Rs 25,000 crores - and for now many are dependent on any kind of substitute employment available locally.