Lonely in Kovalam: Kerala’s tourist magnet is empty in the middle of its high season Even though the pristine beaches in the area were reopened to visitors in phases from November 1, tourism and related activities are yet to see any noticeable uptick, locals point out. Updated: December 26, 2020 6:47:54 pm Kovalam transformed from a sleepy fishing village to the a global tourist destination in the 1970s when it became a part of the so-called hippie trail.(Express Photo/Ralph Alex Arakal) “This Christmas season has been the most uneventful phase since I began living here in 2011,” says Russian national Anna Birch during a regular evening stroll by the sidewalks of a beach in Kovalam, a coastal town located nearly 20 km from Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram.