Kerala Tourist News

Windermere Estate - marketing small hotels

2007-09-27T06:51:00.000Z

Stuart Henshall writes a very effective piece on his blog about marketing small properties using a blog and all the benefits of such an approach after staying at Windermere Estate in Munnar, Kerala.

I am not sure I agree with everything but I do agree with the central tenet of the argument: love and look after your website and maintain it like a pet not as a brochure.

Why a pet?
Pets need feeding everyday, they need love and attention, they need thought and they need visits the vet and brushing down. Your website needs all the same: a daily dose of content, thoughtful consideration and a brush down every so often.

Why Not a Blog?
Blogs are stochastic and free-form. Who knows where they lead. Businesses are not, they have goals. Your website needs some structure and you need to keep with it. Your website has some work to do.

Call it a working pet. You love it and enjoy it, but also you need it to do its job like a carthorse. In the case of the site: does it show off the property, does it bring in visitors, does it illustrate your difference and distinctiveness.

As Stuart Henshall points out to the Windermere owner, there are constant narratives and changing subjects to fill the pages of a website and over.

Responsible Tourism Project in Kerala

2007-09-21T09:46:00.000Z

Kerala Tourism is continuing to investigate the impact of tourism on ecology and social structure. We all know that tourism can have a major impact in terms of economic development as well as impacting upon local social structures.

Many visitors to India are keen that they should not leave a damaging footprint on Kerala and that the places they stay and activities they engage in have some form of ecological audit.

The project is focused on a number of high impact zones such as Kovalam, Kumarakom, Thekkady and Wayanad which either have high tourism numbers or are delicate structures that may be eroded quickly by tourism.

Does Kovalam suffer from too many planes

2007-09-18T21:14:00.000Z

As often as you read about Kovalam Beach, in the same line you read of the planeloads of tourists descending on the Kovalam area from Europe. For Europeans it brings to mind images of Magaluf in Spain with airports handling 40 planes a day, so it might come as a bit of a shock to discover that a solitary charter plane arrives in Trivandrum airport each week flying the My Travel logo. The rest of the week the airport serves scheduled flights and some sleepy local airlines.

Kerala package holidays are available from Manos and a few from First Choice, otherwise holiday makers need to make their own choices and fly in via Chennai or Mumbai or directly via Sri Lanka or Emirates.

Kovalam being cleared up

2007-09-18T21:02:00.000Z

In preparation for the tourist rush starting in November, school children and cadets were out in force over the past week clearing Kovalam Beach of marine litter and other detritus which is washed up every year during the heavy weather of the monsoon storms of the summer.

Kovalam beaches is one of the most popular areas of Kerala for visitors who arrive on package holidays and for beach holidays on the famous beaches of the area.

Shilpa Shetty in Kerala

2007-08-28T07:21:00.000Z

Everybody seems to love Kerala for a spot of filming. Most recent convert is big brother hero Shilpa Shetty who has decided to broaden her commercial plans with a new production company that plans to shoot a Yoga DVD in either Kovalam Beach or the Kerala backwaters.
The team are searching for exotic locations in Kerala at the moment which should not be hard and then a musical is planned. More on the story here

Le Colonial in Fort Cochin

2007-08-21T21:18:00.000Z

New part hotel, part homestay and part art gallery opens in Fort Cochin.

Le Colonial is owned by a french art collector is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Fort Cochin (possibly most of Kerala). Although it only just opening September 2007, it is a welcome addition to the crowded boutique hotel market in Fort Cochin that already features luminaries such as Malabar House, Koder House and Brunton Boatyard. It is only a little different, but the homestay quality as though you are in Ian Fleming's house goes down well.

Selling The Monsoon

2007-05-04T07:39:00.000Z

Chasing the Monsoon, India's theme at the four day Arabian Travel Market convention, is part of its strategy to make the country a year long tourist destination. Now it plans to sell Ayurveda (its ancient system of medicine) and the monsoons to the Arab world.Taking advantage of the Arab penchant for the monsoon rains and Ayurvedic treatment, May to September is slated to become the season for monsoon and medical tourism. The newly introduced Medical Visa is one step further in this direction. Under this visa a patient along with an attendant can come to India for a period of one year, which can be extended further up to three years.
This innovative idea of selling the monsoon is a good marketing gimmick ; monsoon season being Ayurveda season especially in Kerala, which can boast of the best Ayurveda hospitals in the country.

Kovalam - one of the world's great beaches

2007-03-24T16:47:00.000Z

according to the London Daily Telegraph who state...

Kerala provides a gentle introduction to India and Kovalam, on the Malabar coast, is one of the most popular beach hangouts in the sub-continent. Its bays of white sand and coconut palms are a great place for families, with safe swimming and a good variety of beach activities, including kayaking, surfing and water skiing. Small shops selling handicrafts, jewellery and clothes line the waterfront as well as a number of excellent restaurants, which lure diners in by displaying the day's catch - from lobster to swordfish - outside. In the evening, Kovalam comes to life with performances of Kathakali, the classical dance-drama of Kerala. www.kovalam.com

For a newspaper article this sounds like tourist board talk. Its not quite like that, the swimming can be dangerous, but it is fun and way nicer than Goa.

Pongala oven burning chokes Kerala’s capital

2007-03-05T06:58:00.000Z

Thiruvananthapuram came under an umbrella of smoke belching out from hundreds of thousands firewood burning ovens that were lit to cook the pongal feast. Over 2.5 million women lined up yesterday on the streets leading to the famous Attukal Bhagavathi temple in the capital city of Kerala, cooking an offering of rice around the temple premises. The event takes place on the penultimate day of the 10-day long pongala festival and is a local holiday in the district.

Attukal Bhagavathi is believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki and is referred to in the Tamil epic “Silappathikaram”. Also referred to as the Sabarimala for women, the Attukal pongala attracts not just Hindu women but foreign women as well.

The unprecedented rush for the pongala festival began a few years back after the “Guinness Book of World Records” listed it as the only event where over a million women get together to take part in the festivities. “Since then, the numbers have been increasing every year. This year we were expecting two million devotees, but more than 2.5 million women arrived here,” said Attukal temple secretary K.P.Ramachandran Nair.

Women who arrive at least two days before pongala day manage to get their cooking place near the temple, while latecomers line up for miles to offer pongala. This year the queue stretched to almost 15 square kilometers in and around the temple. Women arrive with bricks, firewood and raw materials including rice, jaggery and coconut. They light their ovens from the fire provided by the chief priest of the temple after he lights the oven in the temple compound at 10.45 a.m.

According to the legend, after destroying Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Kannaki travelled to Kerala, where she rested for a while at Attukal. Women are said to have cooked pongala to appease Kannaki.

Shyamala Kumari, a housewife from Kollam, said, “This is the first time I am visiting the temple for the festival and I am having a great time. My relatives have told me that the goddess is very powerful and fulfills all your wishes.”

Kerala Tipples

2007-02-18T10:22:00.000Z

Much rage about some recent Mohanlal adverts that purport to encourage whisky drinking even if they are supposedly for banana chips: alcohol advertising being banned in Kerala.

Kerala has an alcohol problem compared to the rest of India: the average Kerala resident accounts for 8.3 litres of liquor every year - the highest in India, and nearly three times the national average. This from a state with 1/3 muslim who "presumably" don't drink.

Like all things in Kerala, verybody is taking sides and nobody is laughing. When it comes to social and political issues, Keralites tend to suffer from a sense of humour bypass.

The BBC website has some coverage.

Our advice: buy your spirits in duty free because what the ads don't tell you is that Keralite spirits tend to be pretty yucky!

Friendly Kerala

2007-02-10T08:50:00.000Z

Of all the states in India, Kerala is one of the most friendly and in political terms the most exotic. Their politics is every bit as spicy hot as the kerala fish curry.

In spite of the Daily Telegraph article which relates life after the judicial murder of Saddam Hussein (God rot his soul). Politics rarely seems to spill over into western visitors.

Keralites tend to stir over just about anything. Even management strike. Government workers strike. Sometimes bus drivers strike followed by bus travellers.

For visitors this impassioned ideological approach is a charming counter to the otherwise laid back tropical Kerala life style

Kerala Backwaters Driving Kerala Tourism

2006-12-04T07:08:00.000Z

Houseboats, backwaters becoming 'USP' of Kerala's tourism industry

The popularity of houseboats has returned as major tourist attractions in the state. Many find these beautiful flotels as an ideal means of exploring the beauty of the Kerala backwaters.

The number of houseboats in the Alleppey and Kottayam backwaters has increased drastically. In Alleppey alone it has increased from just 150 odd one to more than 350 in two to three years.

Houseboats or Kettu-vallams, which were once used in Kerala waterways for transporting goods from once place to another famous as rice boats, have now changed as the most wanted tourist attraction not only for domestic tourists but also for the foreigners who never miss a chance to take a 24-hour timeout in the backwaters of Kerala.

With these years tourist season remaining there from November till March, the houseboat operators and travel agents are well prepared and are looking forward for a good volume of tourists from various countries to book their houseboats and hope it will be much more than the last year.

Kerala tourism is aiming at a 20 percent increase in foreign tourist arrivals this season, while in the domestic tourists, an increase by five percent are expected this season.

Tourism that has emerged as a major sector in the State provides employment to over one million people in Kerala, which is the fastest growing tourist destination in the world. The World Travel and Tourism Council has predicted 11.6 pc growth rate for Kerala's tourism sector by 2013.

The tourism sector here hopes to get Rs. 100000 million revenue while investments to the tune of Rs. 10000 million are also expected in this sector.

PK Warrior talks of Ayurrveda

2006-12-04T07:01:00.000Z

Wise words from the manager of Kottakkal Arya Vaida Sala which is the foremost Ayurveda institution in Kerala and possibly the world.

DNA - Mumbai - New diseases, ancient remedy - Daily News Analysis

These five-star hotels and so-called spas have turned ayurveda into a money-spinning proposition. Ayurveda is for treatment, not entertainment. Even the most basic treatment takes no less than one month and these packages promise to change the life of a person in one hour,”

Kerala Foreign Tourism Grows 35% annually

2006-11-27T08:48:00.000Z

B. Suman, director of Kerala Tourism, gave a presentation of major
tourist destinations and infrastructure facilities in the state to investors and potential partners in Saudi Arabia. “The
number of foreign tourists to Kerala is increasing by 35 percent
annually since 1991..." [November 2006]

Kerala Hotels to play the Grinch this Xmas

2006-11-24T22:27:00.000Z

Season's special: Holidays set to pinch the wallet- The Economic Times

This year, premium hotels at leisure destinations across India have upped room rates by 30-35%, and have imposed a minimum-stay requirement between Christmas and New Year. Airlines are offering flights at peak rates and have closed the sale of tickets to popular destinations; these tickets will be sold at much higher rates closer to the start of the season, sources said.

Leela Kempinski’s associate head of sales at Kovalam, Prem Joseph, told ET: “We insist on a minimum 5-day stay as we don’t want to go unoccupied even for a single day. Hotels try to get maximum revenues during this time”.

It is not just the Leela Kovalam but almost all Kerala hotels are trying it on which even as a travel professional is sad. The rich are not bothered as they travel whenever they want. I worry as Sri Lanka which is Kerala's closest competitor for foreign visitors is just so much cheaper

varkala india fishing hut

2006-09-04T22:14:00.000Z

varkala india fishing hut, originally uploaded by .conor.

wonderfully fetching shot of fishing huts beside the sea at Varkala in Southern Kerala from .conor on flickr

Industry responds to ‘power girl’ tourism - Newindpress.com

2006-08-10T05:04:00.000Z

Industry responds to ‘power girl’ tourism - Newindpress.com
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Single women or “power girl” groups form at least 35 percent of the tourists coming to Kerala, especially to its homestays, farmstays and eco-lodges. The industry has responded to the trend by organising ladies-only jungle treks, cycling expeditions and even elephant safaris.

Interestingly, these ladies do not clamour for additional security. “They are empowered in all sense of the term. They just want to shake off their men and be on their own,” says Vancheeswaran of Wynberg Resorts, Wayanad.

For a state that has adopted “responsible tourism” as its new mantra, the ‘ladies only’ influx is most welcome. Says Tourism Director B Suman, “Females are more attuned to responsible tourism. They are drawn intuitively to community welfare.”

The female-driven success of responsibletravel.com underscores the point. “My big thing is to stay at eco-lodges or places with real food and real people, where you get real sense of contributing to the local economy,” says UK doctor Rachel Yearsley, who spent her last holidays alone in a homestay in Kochi.

“If women feel they can travel all by themselves across the length and breadth of the state, what better endorsement do I need,” the Tourism Director asks "

Jumbo tourism: Guruvayur temple to woo visitors

2006-08-04T06:48:00.000Z

Jumbo tourism: Guruvayur temple to woo visitors

The Kerala Tourism Department plans to convert the elephant yard attached to Sree Krishna temple in Guruvayur into a major tourist destination.

The captive elephants yard in the temple came into existence in 1975.

Sixty-five elephants will together make up one of the biggest tourist attraction in Kerala.

With the state government planning to pump Rs 5 crore into the project, tourists will get a chance to spend time with the beautiful beasts.

Visitors will also get a chance to watch the jumbos bathe, feed them their favourite snack and also get a bit of Ayurveda treatment. The project will be formally inaugurated on Friday.

"Our aim is promote tourism in the area. It is a unique place with lot of potential. We intend to implement this project with the help of Devaswom Board to ensure more and more people come to this place to watch elephants," said E K Bharat Bhushan, Principal Secretary Tourism.

Major attraction

Lakhs of devotees come to Guruvayur temple every year and each one makes it a point to visit this elephant yard here.

"It's amazing we have never seen so many elephants together. This is the first time in my life. We like the elephants very much," said a visitor.

Each of the 65 elephants were an offering at the Guruvayur temple made by devotees including former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha and Malayalam superstar Suresh Gopi.

Due to lack of space temple authorities have now stopped accepting elephants as offerings.

Authorities say maintaining them is a huge task, the pachyderms consume 11,000 kgs of palm leaves and 5000 kg of hybrid grass each day besides tonnes of bananas and rice.

Around 30,000 litres of water is required everyday to bathe the elephants, which is done by 200 mahouts.

The Devaswom Board spends Rs 3 crore each year for their upkeep and is now looking forward to their elephants becoming a major tourist attraction.

Street Fort Kochi

2006-07-25T22:28:00.000Z

kochi fort street DSC_2218 copy, originally uploaded by ezee as hell.

perhaps a unique characteristic of Fort Kochi is the sheer quietness of the streets which is entirely different to every other street in India

Alleppey cruising Postcard

2006-07-25T22:26:00.000Z

Alleppey cruising DSC_1821copy, originally uploaded by ezee as hell.

1950s look to this bright view over the bows of a houseboat in Kerala's backwaters

Kerala School Tours

2006-07-17T06:04:00.000Z

The Peninsula On-line: Qatar's leading English DailyKerala offers school tours to tourists

By John Mary

Pre-school centres, attended mostly by kids from underprivileged sections, are the latest theme on offer for discerning tourists to Kerala.

Travellers might run into kids at single-teacher, thatch-roofed kindergartens that dot Kerala villages and towns. There is roughly one pre-school centre (anganwadi) for every thousand children in the three-to-six age group.

But it was no such chance encounter for a batch of students from the UK who spent a whole day at two pre-school shelters at the Varkala beach resort, some 40 km from here, this week.

The visit has been the offshoot of a rare linkage between tourism industry and a leading public health NGO, collaborating to improve living standards of some 3,000 children in at shoreline hamlets in Varkala.

Nutritionist CR Soman who heads the NGOs, Prochild and Health Action by People, and KC Chandrahasan of Kerala Travels said: “We will arrange visits by well-meaning tourists to these centers and they will spend time with the children, as the Priory students from Lincolnshire did, singing nursery rhymes with them and sharing food. The tour operator will pass on benefits to anganvadis to improve facilities”.

Village councils, officials of the Integrated Child Development Services and social workers are also involved in the project. Under the project, Lullaby@Varkala, a glass of milk and vegetables are now being provided to children three days a week to supplement the Government-sponsored food and two pairs of uniform. Prochild looks after the visitors, charging $ 22 for a day while the local community serves lunch at $ 3.5 per head.

“By facilitating interaction between tourists and locals and by channeling the revenue for the uplift of children, women and economically weaker sections of society, Lullaby seeks to create a symbiotic relationship between tourism and the populace,” Dr Soman said.

What provoked this critical intervention was a survey conducted by Health Action by People in the anganvadis in the area which showed 50 per cent of them provide only benches as seating facility and 18 per cent provide chairs. At 15 per cent centres kids sat on the floor and the rest had miscellaneous seating arrangements.

Cana bridge Kerala, India

2006-06-27T05:00:00.000Z

≈ bridge ≈ Kerala, India ≈, originally uploaded by Jennifer Esperanza.

photo by Jennifer Esperanza of a typical backwater bridge that crosses over one of the many canals that criss cross and drain the low lying inland of Kerala

Alapuzha Station. Southern Railway, India.

2006-06-18T07:10:00.000Z

Alapuzha Station. Southern Railway, India., originally uploaded by dbtorp.

The Kayankulam-Ernakulam Passenger rolls into Alapuzha station in style behind an Erode Loco on Platform No 1. The train waiting on Platform no 2 is the Ernakulam-Alapuzha Passenger.

The India railway system is very efficient, and if the trains run more slowly than the expresses in the West, then again there is so much more to see

Fort Bekal in Northern Kerala

2006-06-17T05:54:00.000Z

bekal fort, originally uploaded by The Benevolent Order of the Scurrilous Monks.

Alappuzha Beach Wharf

2006-06-13T21:35:00.000Z

Alapuzha Beach Wharf, originally uploaded by dbtorp.

the old loading wharf that stretches out to sea from the beach at alappuzha (Alappey) in Kerala