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 Kerala Tourism is known for organising a five-day "Monsoon Festival" in June at the Kanakakunnu palace in the capital with a view to promoting monsoon aggressively "that rejuvenates the environment, nourishes the land and replenishes the waterways."
Held towards June-end every year, the festival is organised as part of the efforts to market the State as a destination for holidayers to savour during the southwest monsoon that commences in June.Tourism authorities are trying to market Kerala as the first port of call of the southwest monsoon and a rare wet spectacle that follows. The State gets ritually drenched by the two annual monsoons - the southwest monsoon and the northeast monsoon, also called `monsoon on retreat.
The festival also offers a platform for artistes to present art forms, classical dance and music before a tourist audience. A food festival is also organised to enable tourists to get to know about the cuisine of Gods Own Country. Local artistes are roped in artistes locally. The whole idea is to create a buzz around for the tourists.
The imposing hall of the Kanakakunnu palace was the venue for the cultural programmes in 2006. The festival was held in the evenings and entry to the venue was free.
Wooing metroites
As the response from the tourists and the locals was very good, the festival is being planned to be extended to other cities and tourist destinations as well. To coincide with this, tourism authorities have kicked off a concerted campaign to attract tourists during the June-August monsoon period. Three advertisements targeted at honeymooners, professionals above the age of 30 years and those in the metros of Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi have already been unveiled by Kerala Tourism.
The advertisement campaign targeted at honeymooners is focussed on the theme that it is romantic to be in the hill stations, beaches and other tourist destinations of the State during the monsoon period. Professionals above 30 years are also being targeted by projecting that the "cool season" is the best time for undertaking Ayurveda to rejuvenate the body, mind and soul and to wipe out the stress.
The travel-minded people in the metros of Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi are being wooed to the State through a campaign mounted on Radio Mirchi.With monsoon knocking at the doors, hotels, resorts and those operating House boats have come up with attractive special packages to attract foreign and domestic tourists to the State.
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