Kerala Tourism holds roadshow in Paris to boost French arrivals

Target to double French tourist arrivals in God’s Own Country

With an aim to restore the number of French tourists arriving in Kerala to their pre-pandemic levels, Kerala Tourism recently organised a roadshow in Paris.

Even five years after the pandemic, the number of French tourists visiting Kerala languishes less than half way to the pre-pandemic arrivals and with an ambitious target of increasing the number of tourists from France by more than 100 pc, Kerala Tourism recently held a successful roadshow in Paris.

The roadshow was attended by over a dozen tourism stakeholders from Kerala, including Ayurvedic resorts as well as hotels, tour operators and Destination Management Companies (DMCs).

The roadshow generated a lot of interest amongst the French tour operators and organisers say the number of French participants exceeded 70.

The roadshow began with dedicated slot of almost three hours for B2B meetings between the stakeholders from Kerala as well as the French tourism companies. This was followed by a brief presentation by Sikha Surendran, Director, Kerala Tourism, who highighted the diverse attractions of Kerala that could attract French tourists and also urged the French tour operators to push the new products in the state like heli-tourism, home-stays as well as responsible tourism.

“We organise these roadshows very regularly every year in Paris, since France is a really good market for Kerala Tourism. So, it is important for us to continue to have this collaboration with the tour operators,’’ Surendran told India & You on the sidelines of the roadshow.

She said that each year, the state government tries to promote new segments or aspects to attract more tourists.

“In terms of new elements for visitors to Kerala, we will be promoting Kerala as an adventure tourism destination to make use of our extensive coastline as well as the Western Ghats. We have also recently launched a heli-tourism policy to promote rapid transfers by helicopters and caravan tourism for people to explore the state at their own place. In addition, we are promoting responsible tourism, integrated with home stays, which gives the visitors a comprehensive immersive experience in Kerala,’’ Surendran added.

She admitted that the recovery of the French market since the Covid-19 outbreak has been slow, but was very optimistic about a sharp rebound in 2025.

“We have about 97,000 French visitors to Kerala in the pre-pandemic period and we had very sharp a dip after that. We are slowly picking up the pace, in 2024, the number of French visitors to Kerala grew to 45,000 and we are certain that in 2025 will be able to go back to the pre-Covid levels. The slow pace was due to restrictions, but over the years we have kept our engagement with the French market and it is really time for the comeback and the tour operators in France at the roadshow are also very optimistic and supportive,’’ she added.

Surendran is not alone in her optimism about the recovery. Many of the participants from Kerala were equally positive about their prospects in the French market.

“Our expectation from this roadshow was that we should be able to reconnect with our existing clients and also find new contacts for developing the business further and to a large extent, I think this objective has been achieved and it is good to see that there is so much of interest towards Kerala in France and there is a strong pick up likely,’’ S Swaminathan, Managing Director, Dravidian Trails, a leading inbound tour operator in Kerala, tells India & You.

K Abhilash, Director of Kairali Ayurvedic Group, a leading operator of Arurvedic resorts, including a flagship resort at Palakkad in northern Kerala, backs Swami’s feedback on the event.

“As we are coming back to Paris for the first time since the pandemic, we hoped that there will be a positive response to the roadshow because France was and is a big market for India. We have got 60 odd people coming in this evening, so that is a good sign and we will hopefully get back to pre-Covid numbers in 2025,” Abhilash tells India & You.

He adds that in his meetings, he found a lot of interest amongst the French tour operators. “A lot of keen interest, especially in our field as we can see that a lot of people want to go back to holistic living. They are suffering from stress and the tour operators say they have a lot of patients that would like to come for these. So, that is a good sign and a very good option for them to adapting their lifestyle now. We are looking at nearly 30 to 40 pc growth from the French market because of events like this. We did ITV last year and this year there were French agents there,’’ adds Abhilash.

The French tour operators are also very positive about the prospects of a strong rebound in France. Didier Sandman, a veteran tour operator in France, said he had been visiting Kerala since 1974 and said that even 50 years later, the state had a lot to offer to the French tourists and which went beyond sight-seeing.

“It is a great destination. Of course, the city of Kochi, Fort Kochi, the backwaters, the beaches, the hills and even more await tourists. But the best thing that the French should know is that Kerala is a progressive state. It is one of the few states in India where public education and public health are looked after and this is something that is not so common in India. Since French tourists are seeking immersive experiences and they are obsessed about equality, Kerala is the one of the very few places in India where there is an effort towards equality,’’ Sandman told India & You.

Other French participants at the roadshow were also enthusiastic about the prospects for Kerala in the French market in 2025.

“I think this event tonight is really delightful. And I think is so important and nice to meet partners and people that you work with remotely. I have been many times to Kerala, which is one of my favourite states in India. This evening, it was really nice to see everything that Kerala has to offer in terms of the arts, culture, the varied landscapes. There is so much more to know about Kerala,” Stephanie Naudo of Mon Prochain Voyage, a boutique French tour operator that makes customised itineraries for its clients, tells India & You.

“I think tonight is something that I saw that slowly the French tourists are going back to Kerala and to India and I think it is a very good thing,’’ Naudo adds.