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Mesmerising monsoon magic

Devayani Medhekarfinds out that domestic and international tourists are making a beeline to Kerala to romance the rain

Photo: S. Gopakumar

Smooth sailing Leisurely rides along the canals and lagoons are proving to be a major tourist attraction

The new tourism mantra in Kerala no longer adheres to the old rhyme ‘Rain, Rain go away ……’; it’s, in fact, quite to the contrary. The monsoon is being aggressively marketed to attract tourists to romance the rain and e xperience the magic of the season.

No longer is the monsoon considered a deterrent by tourists world over thanks to the consistent efforts of Kerala Tourism, which has paved the way in successfully promoting Kerala as a round-the-year destination.

The low occupancy levels during the off season, starting from June right through September, is a thing of the past and now the effort is to increase the influx of tourists with strategic marketing initiatives in association with service providers.

Says V. Venu, Secretary Tourism, “The ‘monsoon campaign’ kicked off by Kerala a few years ago resulted in a significant increase in domestic arrivals during the period. The arrivals were largely from Mumbai and Delhi, with Bangalore providing many tourists for hotels in North Kerala. The ‘Dream Season’ campaign launched this year is a logical extension of our previous campaigns. The main difference is that from a generic campaign we have moved to a tactical, package-specific campaign, which offered packages from participating hotels and resorts.”

Aimed at the young, tech-savvy crowd in metropolises, the ad campaigns are targeted at major cities in India. The packages are mainly for family holidays, with attractive add-ons for children. Explains Jagdish Nair, general manager of The Travancore Heritage, “We have a specially crafted monsoon package for this season that has received a great response from tourists from the North-West as well as from Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.”

Many of the special monsoon packages include Ayurveda treatment and trips to nearby tourist destinations such as Kanyakumari.

Speaking on the tourist arrivals at The Leela Kempinski Kovalam Beach, Mausam Bhattacharjee, associate head sales & marketing, says, “The maximum response we have received during this season is from within the country, Europe and the Middle East. Honeymooners and non-resident Indians too flood Kerala during this season. Business and leisure travel too witness an upward trend, particularly from major Indian metros. The Ayurveda Wellness route has been adopted to promote the monsoon packages in Germany, United Kingdom and Italy.”

The resort has designed three exciting packages to cater to tourists who arrive during the monsoon.

Resorts in Poovar and Kovalam have also come up with packages aimed at specific target groups. Samudra, Estuary Island, Isola Di Cocco and Ayurbay are some of the resorts in the district that have great monsoon packages for tourists.

Ajith Prasad, assistant manager, reservations, Isola Di Cocco, says that many domestic tourists reach Kerala merely to enjoy the rain. “Tourists from Gujarat, Delhi and Maharsahtra seem to prefer this season over the peak period,” he adds.

Says Balasubramaniam, front office manager, Estuary Island, “Our occupancy levels used to dip on account of the rain. But that is a thing of the past. As a result of the special monsoon packages, which are valid till September 30, we are full at the moment. A major corporate house is hosting a conference here.”

The resort offers deep-sea fishing and rides in country boats to tourists who just don’t seem to get enough of the greenery and the backwaters.

Participation in domestic and international trade shows, attractive value for money packages with special rates marketed through major tour operators, special incentive schemes for conference organisers and website promotions are some of the innovative initiatives that the travel fraternity in association with Kerala Tourism has launched to romance the rain in God’s Own Country.

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