Baby steps to make Kerala a grand yoga stopover

Tourism industry draws up plans to position State as yoga destination and develop a yoga circuit

Kerala, with its tranquil natural retreats and rich heritage in Ayurveda and other wellness practices, presents itself as one of the best places to rejuvenate mind and body.

After positioning Kerala as the ‘land of Ayurveda’ and the best place to experience authentic Ayurveda in the global wellness market, it is the turn to promote the State as a dedicated yoga destination.

Since Kerala is billed one of the best places to rejuvenate mind and body, the tourism industry stakeholders plan to combine the demand from wellness travellers for yoga, meditation, and health tourism.

They intend to position the State as a dedicated yoga destination and develop a yoga circuit linking yoga and meditation centres, ashrams, and tourist destinations.

To popularise Kerala as a yoga destination abroad, the Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) has worked out a ‘yoga ambassadors tour’.

The Union government’s Department of Ayush and Kerala Tourism have joined hands with the ATTOI for the initiative as the Centre has given its nod for the tour. For this, 100 leading yoga tour operators, journalists specialising in yoga, and yoga teachers from around the globe will visit the State for 10 days from June 13 to familiarise themselves with the yoga circuit. “Already 137 yoga and wellness tour operators have registered online. Registrations have come mostly from Germany, Spain, and other European countries,” president of the ATTOI P.K. Anish Kumar told The Hindu.

Selected ones

Those selected will fly down to the State capital on June 13 and attend an international yoga conference aimed at promoting yoga at Kovalam the next day.

From June 14 to 20, they will visit Maruthamala in Kanyakumari district, the meditation centre on the Vivekananda Rock there, undertake a heritage tour in Thiruvananthapuram before moving to Jadayupara, Elephant Rock, Kollam, Kumarakom, and Muniyara, near Marayur, in Munnar.

The Muniyara Dolmenoids are prehistoric dolmens, 55 km from Munnar, belonging to the Neolithic Age. They have been included in the tour as the place is favoured by wellness travellers for meditation and yoga.

On June 21, International Yoga Day, the 100 ‘ambassadors’ will participate in a joint mass yoga drill in Kochi before flying back the next day.

“The tour will provide a holistic experience to these 100 ambassadors who in turn will help project Kerala as a perfect place to practise yoga while travelling,” Mr. Kumar said.