Kerala Looks at Ayurveda Tourism to Attract Tourist

Kerala is paving new ways to enter the tourism market of countries such as Russia, Europe and east Asia with Ayurveda tourism.
The deputy director of Kerala tourism, Nanda Kumar who was in the city on Tuesday said that foreign visitors are often looking for a relaxation place. “So we are planning to mix ayurvedic treatment along with sightseeing in such a way that the experience is truly a stress buster for them,” Kumar said.

The state also has a major chunk of domestic tourists coming from Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The main target audience though are the retired foreign visitors. “They have earned their money in their youth and are looking for a place to relax and that is how we are marketing Kerala in many places. Even in Russia, where there is not much sun through the year, Kerala climate is a welcome experience. Hence we are trying to capitalize on the natural beauty and the immense culture of Ayurveda in the state,” Kumar said.

In 2015, the number of foreign tourists to have visited Kerala were 7.75 lakh (from January to October) which is up by 6.60% while the number of domestic tourists were 76.71 lakh (from January to August) which is up by 7.40 %.

Kumar said that south Kerala has long been on the tourist map and now the government is trying to put north Kerala or the Malabar region on the map too.

The new endeavours have proved well for them as the foreign exchange earnings for the year 2014 was Rs 6398.93 crore, which was an increase of 15.07% over the previous year and the total revenue (including direct and indirect) for the same year was Rs 24885.44 crore, showing an increase of 12.11% over the previous year’s figure.

Moreover, they are exploring new grounds. “A memorandum of understanding between Saint Petersburg tourism board and Kerala is also on the cards. This will happen next week in Mumbai, and is a first of its kind MoU of an Indian state with a foreign country,” Kumar said.

From Ayurveda tourism to stress-busting, Kerala is paving new ways to enter markets in otherwise unexplored countries in Russia, Europe and east Asia.
Maharashtra and Gujarat comprise major chunk of domestic tourists to Kerala, said Nanda Kumar, deputy director of Kerala tourism who was in the city on Tuesday.

“A memorandum of understanding between Saint Petersburg tourism board and Kerala is also on the cards. This will happen next week in Mumbai, and is first of its kind MoU of an Indian state with a foreign country,” claimed Nanda Kumar. Talking about tourism as a stress buster, Nanda Kumar said, “We have realized that many a times, foreign tourists are looking at relaxing more than sight-seeing. So we are planning to mix ayurvedic treatment along with sightseeing in such a way that the experience is truly a stress buster for them.”

He also talked about the increasing number of retired foreigners coming for long vacations to Kerala. “They have earned their money in their youth and are looking for a place to relax and that is how we are marketing Kerala in many places. Even in Russia for that matter where there is not much sun throughout the year, Kerala climate is a welcome experience. Hence we are trying to capitalize on the natural beauty and the immense culture of Ayurveda in the state,” said Nanda Kumar. He also said that while south Kerala has been long on the tourist map, now the government is also trying to put north Kerala or what is called Malabar region on the map.

In 2015, the number of foreign tourists that visited Kerala was 7.75 lakh (from January to October) which is up by 6.60% while the number of domestic tourists in Kerala was 76.71 lakh (from January to August) which is up by 7.40 %.

“Foreign exchange earnings for the year 2014 was Rs 6398.93 crore, which was an increase of 15.07% over the previous year. Total revenue (including direct and indirect) from tourism during 2014 was Rs 24885.44 crore, showing an increase of 12.11% over the previous year’s figure.

Source:  timesofindia.indiatimes.com