Kerala - The Gateway of India
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Image: Gireesh GV for Forbes India
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n the months of May, June and July more than six lakh foreign and domestic tourists land up on a sliver on the southern-most tip of the sub-continent to laze on houseboats lolling in its backwaters, get rejuvenating oil baths or simply gaze at the majesty of the monsoons. And this — the monsoon season — is the lean period for tourism in Kerala!
The state successfully marketed its serene backwaters, well-managed wild-life sanctuaries, ayurvedic treatments, temple festivals and boat races to attract the high-spending tourist. From a single-beach destination — Kovalam — in the early 1990s, Kerala transformed into a multi-experience tourism paradise that National Geographic Traveller magazine voted as one of the 50 must-see places in the world.
And the numbers amply support the claim. In 2010, the number of foreign tourists arriving in the state increased by 18 percent over the previous year to about 6.6 lakh, while the number of domestic tourists increased by 9 percent to reach 86 lakh.
Revenue from tourism, which crossed Rs. 17,350 crore in 2010, accounts for nearly 9 percent of the state’s output.
The decidedly elitist tourism industry in Kerala has also remained unaffected by the state’s industry-unfriendly image — thanks to militant trade unions and often narrow-minded politics — and has, in fact, got unstinted government backing. In 2005, the state passed a legislation — the Kerala Tourism (Conservation and Preservation of Areas) Act — for the sustainable development of tourism destinations.
But now, Kerala, or rather Kerala Tourism, is looking beyond its backwaters and ayurveda and is preparing to entice tourists on an entire new platform: As a cultural hotspot. The idea is to offer the discerning traveller intellectual stimulation along with natural beauty.
“We’ve been there, done that. Kerala is already in the mindscape of travellers. The focus now is on style and being edgy,” says state tourism secretary Venu V., about the state’s marketing strategy. “Call it Kerala Tourism 2.0 if you will.”
Reviving an Ancient Port
Two millennia ago, the monsoon winds that brought rains to Kerala also filled the sails of ships with Greeks, Arabs, Jews, Romans and merchants and mariners from across the world. Somewhere along the coast was tucked a port called Muziris, where these vessels anchored and traded gold and silver for pepper, making the town an international exchange point for goods and ideas between 100 B.C. and 100 A.D.
Kerala is betting on the history of this ancient port to lure modern travelers, with the Muziris Heritage project as an ambitious attempt to merge history with culture and leisure.
It started with archaeological excavation in Pattanam, about 30 km north of Kochi, of what many believe to be the port city of Muziris. The exact location of the port has, however, remained a mystery. It was earlier believed to be situated at Kodungallur, a few kilometres north of Pattanam.
There are two kinds of literature that contain references to Muziris, says P.J. Cherian, director of the excavations at Pattanam and director of the Kerala Council for Historical Research. One set comprises texts in Latin and Greek, the languages of trade, written like handbooks or manuals based on facts and rationale. The second is a set of Tamil texts that are laced with fiction and legends, says Cherian.
Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder, who lived between 23 A.D. and 79 A.D., refers to Muziris in his encyclopaedic work Natural History as “primum emporium Indiae” or India’s first emporium.
He explained that travellers could reach the port quickly if they caught the wind called Hippalus from Ocelis on the Red Sea. Tamil Sangam poetry referred to it as the place where large Yavana ships arrived bearing gold and returned with pepper.
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