Monsoon: Check in and enjoy the rains in God's own country

Thiruvananthapuram, June 18: ''Relax and unwind'', and hear the music of the rains.

With the South West Monsoon setting in, Kerala, boasting of the highest number of tourists visiting 'God's own country', is cashing in on what it calls ''Monsoon Tourism''. The idea is to offer the tourists an unique ambience of the season for unwinding and rejuvenation, as it were.

''Most of the tourists do not know that this is an ideal time to come here. It is the magical time of the year when nature is in full bloom and the mind can be relaxed. This season is most suitable for people who are leading a stressful life and for those who go in for Ayurvedic treatment,'' Kerala Tourism Director B Suman told UNI.

About the promotional aspects, he said the basic target groups were 30-plus professionals, couples and those interested in Ayurveda treatment. ''But a majority of the crowd comprises younger people, who are more adventurous and also vigorous", he said.

Apart from the young crowd, people in their 50s also come here but they form only a small group, Mr Suman said and added that these people came here for Ayurvedic rejuvenation. ''If a 50 year-old man is asked to go out in the rains, he will not. But he might come here for Ayurvedic rejuvenation'', he noted.

According to Ayurvedic physicians, rejuvenation therapies have the best effect during the monsoon months, when the winds and the cold temperature render the body especially amenable to the therapeutic and restorative powers of the herbs and concoctions used in Ayurveda.

''The initial response has been very good and we hope to achieve more than our target,'' he said and added it was an ideal time to visit the state as the off-peak rates are affordable during this time.

However, he said full fledged campaigns on ''holidaying in monsoon'' were focussed on two specific regions, West Asia and North India. ''The market targets are West Asia and North India, where the summer would be at its peak when it rains here. The summer stretches till July in West Asia and North India where as Kerala experiences the first showers by may end or the first week of June.

Mr Suman said the tourism department had already put in advertisements in West Asia and North India to lure tourists to hearthe 'music' of the rains. Asked if other regions of the globe would be targetted in the coming years, he replies ''a decision will be taken only after seeing the response. If successful, we will go back to the drawing board , reshape the strategy. '' Though the tourism department had only organised a week long monsoon festival, commencing next week, it would give a boost to the industry, Mr Suman feels.

In the festival, the tourists, no doubt would have first hand experience of the art and folk forms related to rains and a taste of the dishes, which are specially available during the the rainy season. A photography and painting exhibition, exclusively on rains would be another attraction. The week long monsoon fest would commence on July 20, he said and added it would be extended depending on the response.

Mr Suman the ''rain walks'', to be introduced in East Fort in Thiruvananthaputram and Fort Kochi would be another major attraction promoted by Kerala Tourism.

This would give the tourist an experience of seeing the beauty and life during the rainy season.

About promoting ''monsoon tourism'', Mr Suman said the hotels in the state were already having special packages during the monsoon season for couples and for Ayurvedic rejuvenation. ''We are just promoting them, basically selling the state of Kerala.

In the coming years, we expect that the flow of tourists to the state during the monsoon would increase,'' he said.

UNI