The scorching heat of the
summer drives most of the tourists to find solace in a land full of beauty,
mild temperature and rejuvenating ambience. Taking all these things into
consideration, the monsoon that has set in Kerala, has made the God’s own country
a complete vacation spending spot. Kerala has combo of all the excitement and
adventure, beauty and landscapes, travel and venture at a single place.
This year the monsoon in Kerala has played the flute of the Pied Piper to attract tourist from across the world. The concerned authorities have taken many initiatives to strike when the magic is in the air. Raghu Dasan, additional director, Kerala Tourism said that the monsoon months were clubbed with peak summer months so that people duped by the scorching heat can find refuge and relief in Kerala. He added that the monsoon months- June and July- are now seen as standout months in terms of the potential for tourist arrivals. To increase the number of tourist the Tourism Industry of the State has been offering deals at a 30% discount. The luxury tax has also been cut down to 5% from the existing 12% during the monsoon season. These deals are facilitating travelers to prepare their own itinerary at economical rates. The itinerary are then send to accredited tour operators who will then submit their quotes on rates to the customers. The Chairman and Managing director of Intersight Tours and Travel, Abraham George Johnny, expressed his views on the initiatives taken by the Kerala Tourism Industry. He said that Kerala Tourism’s efforts to promote monsoon tourism have been generating a good response. He explained the reason to cut down the luxury tax from 12% to 5% was to offer competition to the flourishing Ayurveda Package Holidays of Sri Lanka. He added that even though the number of tourists from West Asia visiting Kerala is rising at a considerable rate; Sri Lanka’s Ayurveda Package Holidays has risen exceptionally high. Abraham is hopeful that the cut down in the luxury tax would help to slash down the tour packages that will show its effect in attracting more tourists from different parts of the country as well as abroad. Even though the supply of rooms for tourists in Kerala had increased by about 50% in recent years; those rooms turned out of the line of expectation. The demand has merely exceeded 10%. So the Tourism Industry and the Industry stakeholders are hopeful and excited by the initiatives taken by the government to support and raise the tourism during the monsoon season. Jose Dominic, CEO of the CGH Earth group of hotels, finds tremendous scope for monsoon tourism in Kerala. He said that the state has an advantage of two months before the set of peak season at various other tourist hotspots. He added that tourist from North India are flocking to Kerala from early June and would continue the track till mid July. He believes that kerala is lucky as foreign and domestic tourists are lured by the beauty and adventure in this wonderful land He too like many more is assured that the innovative steps taken by the government and the concerned authorities would help the Tourism Industry rise during the monsoon seasons. The monsoon season has found another way to attract more tourist by the ayurvedic rejuvenation treatment. The Ayurvedic treatment is suitable during the monsoon season. So the tourist would find it very interesting to include sightseeing along with ayurvedic Treatment during their visit to Kerala. According to Dr. A.M. Anvar, chairman and MD of Punarnava Ayurveda Hospital, they have got many queries from Arabs in the Gulf. It is very hot in Arabs and toursist come for treatment as well as adventure during the month of monsoon.Dr Anvar added that the number of people, particularly those above 30 are the major ones seeking for the treatment. He said that this year the influx was from Bangalore and Hyderabad. The customers are mainly concerned with neck pain, digestive problems and obesity.
The hospital of Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala, an ayurvedic treatment center in Thrissur is witnessing one of the busiest seasons this monsoon. Deputy superintendent of the hospital, Dr Suresh, said that people are booking for the treatment months before in advance. Nowadays people spend a minimum of 14 days for the rejuvenation therapy, and do not hesitate to spend atleast a month for the problem of obesity.
