The Hindu : Kerala News : Marina likely to attract high-end tourists

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 12, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Marina likely to attract high-end tourists

By John L. Paul

KOCHI, SEPT 11. The proposed marina in Kochi, the first of its kind in India, is tailor-made as per the Vision 2025 document of the State Tourism Department. Vision 2025 aims at attracting hi-end tourists to the State.

Those in the tourism industry have expressed concern that many tourists who visit Kerala are backpackers, reminiscent of the hippies of the Seventies. But the Tourism Secretary, T. Balakrishnan, says that being a democratic country, India cannot deny permission to backpackers.

High-quality destination

"But we can make a destination a high-quality one through our policies, by making it expensive for tourists. Thus we move up the ladder, just like moving up the value chain. For example, Kerala would like to emulate Maldives, where hotels are priced very high, and not Goa and Sri Lanka, which have hotels priced between $25 and $30. It all depends on what class the marina would belong to," he says.

Backpacker travellers travel around the globe in deep-sea yachts. Employees of the Bolghatty Palace Hotel, near which seafarers anchor their yachts now, say that most of the tourists here are backpackers who cannot afford even a night's stay at the four-star hotel. The seafarers stay in their yachts and depend on the hotel only for potable water. They buy food from shops on the mainland. Many of them use drugs and have a negative influence on the local people, as in Kovalam and Fort Kochi.

Florida Model

"World over, marinas are being run profitably. The marina in Kochi could well become what Florida is to the U.S. where lifestyle (high-end) tourists converge. The idea is to make them fly down to Kochi, take a cruise in yachts berthed here and fly back to their city. We will make available repair/refuelling facilities and recreation like clubs and adventure sports. This will even change the lifestyle of the city, referred to as an upcoming metro. Initially, there will be facilities to berth 60 yachts. This will ultimately go up to 150. Though cruise liners will not be able to berth at the marina, the small yachts they carry with them can be berthed here.Kochi's advantage is that the port and the proposed marina will be close by," Mr. Balakrishnan says adding that the marina can be completed in 12 months and can get breakeven in six years.

The District Collector, A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, says that downtown Kochi (53.54 acres of land reclaimed and developed as part of the Goshree project) will develop into a high-activity area once the marina and the Vallarpadom transhipment container terminal become a reality.

Job opportunities

"The marina will provide job opportunities to workmen who are skilled in repairing boats and communication equipment like GPS, sonar and VHF radio sets. World-class boat engines are available in Kochi. The annual international boat fair will begin to draw more attention once the marina comes up. Many local youth will take to yachting and adventure tourism," says V.A. Aurangazeb, Regional Joint Director, Tourism.

The marina is a joint venture between Tourist Resorts Kerala Limited (TRKL) and Trans Resource Corporation (TRC), Malaysia.

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