Vembanad Lake is at the heart of Kerala Backwaters tourism with hundreds of kettuvallams crisscrossing it and numerous resorts nestling on its banks. The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake. The lake is famous for its scenic beauty and has become a major tourist attraction.

The Vembanad Wetland system has formed an intricate network of estuaries, lagoons and canals which spans over 196 km in the northsouth and 29 km in the east-west directions. Almost all villages in these areas can be accessed via water transport. The major rivers of Muvattupuzha, Meenachil, Pamba and Achencovil rivers, are all navigable up to distances of about 30 km upstream in the tidal reach. The Kottappuram-Kollam segment of the west coast canal system has a major chunk passing through the Vembanad Lake and spans a total of 209 km. It has been declared as a National Waterway.

On July 27, 2002, twenty-nine people were killed when an overcrowded boat capsized in the Vembanad lake. The boat was carrying more people than twice its slated capacity. The boat was a daily ferry service which connects Muhamma village on the west coast to Kumarakom on the east. The crowd were going in for writing a PSC test.[8]