In a major reshuffle of the state’s administrative machinery, the Government of Keralam has appointed Anu Kumari IAS as the new Director of Kerala Tourism, a post widely regarded as one of the most sought-after postings for IAS officers in the state.
She replaced Anjanaa M IAS, who had been serving as Special Secretary, Cultural Affairs, along with the post of Director of Kerala Tourism. Anjanaa had also been holding additional charge of NORKA and Disaster Management. With the reshuffle, she has been posted as Special Secretary, Disaster Management, and relinquishes the Tourism Directorate and the Cultural Affairs department. She will continue to hold additional charge of NORKA and will also look after the Department of Transport, covering Aviation, Metro and Railways, as additional charge.
Gopalakrishnan K IAS has been posted as Special Secretary, Cultural Affairs. The department comes under P.C. Vishnunadh, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Cinema, who also heads the Tourism department.
Anu Kumari is a 2018-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre. She secured All India Rank 2 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2017 in her second attempt, after about nine years in the corporate sector, including finance and marketing roles at ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. She holds a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics from Hindu College, Delhi University, and an MBA in Finance & Marketing from IMT Nagpur.
Her career in the state administration began with field training as Assistant Collector in Thiruvananthapuram. She then served as Sub-Collector and Revenue Divisional Officer in Thalassery, followed by a stint as District Development Commissioner in Thiruvananthapuram. She later headed the Kerala State IT Mission as its Director, while also holding additional charge as Mission Director of MGNREGS. From July 2024 to October 2026, she served as District Collector and District Magistrate of Thiruvananthapuram. In October, she was transferred from the Collector’s post to Special Commissioner of State GST, the position she held until this appointment.
As Collector of the capital district, she led administration, disaster management and infrastructure projects. At KSITM she drove digital transformation and e-governance initiatives. Her administrative background in digital governance and large-scale coordination is expected to serve the department well as Kerala pursues its next phase of tourism growth.
Anu Kumari takes charge at a time when the tourism industry is passing through an uncertain phase. The ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East has led to a sharp decline in inbound tourism, while the situation in several European countries and the high fluctuation in the cost of living and fuel prices have pushed up airfares. The rise in airfares is hindering long-haul travel by Western European tourists, who are a traditional source market for Kerala during the inbound season that begins in October.
The numbers show how far the state’s international recovery lags behind the rest of the world. According to the Kerala Tourism Department’s 2025 statistics, the state recorded 821,999 foreign tourist visits in 2025, up from 738,374 in 2024, an increase of 11.33 per cent. However, this is still about 31 per cent below the 2019 figure of 11,89,771 foreign tourist visits. By comparison, the state had recorded about 6.49 lakh foreign tourists in 2023. Globally, the picture is far stronger. According to UN Tourism’s World Tourism Barometer, an estimated 1.52 billion international tourists were recorded worldwide in 2025, almost 60 million more than in 2024. Europe, the world’s largest destination region, recorded 793 million international tourists, 6 per cent more than in 2019. The Middle East was 39 per cent above its 2019 level. Kerala’s domestic market, meanwhile, has done well, with domestic tourist visits rising 12.64 per cent in 2025 to 2,50,58,366, about 36 per cent above 2019.Â
Promoting destinations, strengthening industry partnerships and expanding international outreach are expected to be key priorities for the new Director. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said in September that Kerala has set a target of five million foreign tourist visits in the next five years.