Romancing the rains

TRAVEL: Kerala plans monsoon festivals, rain walks and cultural shows to entice tourists in the rainy season.

"Pick up your umbrellas...get out and enjoy the rains." That is what B Suman, Kerala Tourism's director, will tell anyone he meets as he tries to sell the concept of a monsoon holiday in God's Own Country.

Not only would you get to enjoy the rains, there are a host of "things to do" which are being planned by the tourism department like rain walks in Trivandrum and Kochi. Trained guides will accompany tourists to some of the famous historical sites like the Bolghaty Palace and Dutch Palace.

A monsoon festival (starting in Trivandrum) is also on the cards, as are cultural programmes which include puppet shows, music and dance.

A monsoon food festival is also being organised. Interestingly, Kerala food tastes different during the monsoon as the combination of spices used varies from season to season.

To sell the monsoon story, Kerala Tourism recently launched a campaign in print (Rs 1 crore) and on Radio Mirchi (Rs 15 lakh). A few free holidays will be sponsored by Kerala Tourism for the winners of various SMS-based contests running on radio.

Suman is confident that the promotion will add 15 per cent occupancy to the state's hotels. Kerala is typically booked fully from September to March and then it gets the summer vacation crowd in April and May. The two months of June and July have traditionally seen very low occupancy.

Kerala is an exciting monsoon destination for another reason too. For those interested in Ayurveda, the body is most responsive to such treatments during this period, claims Suman.

Kerala Tourism is hoping to catch the honeymooners, the 30-plus professionals looking for a break and the non-premium tourists, since the off-peak rates are very affordable (sometimes half of peak rates).

The state is targeting travellers from the northern states (Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi), and not so surprisingly, the Middle East (there is great air connectivity between Kerala and the Middle East).

If Middle East tourists can visit Mumbai just to enjoy the rains, why not God's Own Country?