The Hindu Business Line : Brand ayurveda

Every year, Enzo Arpini flies down from Italy to Kerala during the monsoon... something he has not missed for eight years. What brings him to this southern State is the balmy effect of ayurveda. "It is like recharging a battery. The `panchakarma' magic keeps me going for one whole year. It also keeps my arthritis problem at bay," says Arpini, who is now here on a business trip.

"Last monsoon, I brought along my friend, Schoi Ber. It was his first brush ever with ayurveda; now he says he wouldn't think twice where to head for his next holiday."

Like Arpini and Ber, thousands of tourists come to Kerala every year from Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Russia, Japan and the UK. "Around 3.6 lakh foreign tourist arrivals were registered in 2004. And their numbers are rising steadily.

One of our surveys showed that next to the beaches, what they look for is ayurveda," says Bharat Bhushan, Tourism Director, Kerala. This explains why it is hard to find a resort in the State that does not include ayurveda in its cultural buffet.

Ayurveda has been an integral part of tourism in Kerala since the mid-1990s. It was packaged as a brand and promoted in a big way by the Tourism Department through the Internet, CD-ROMS, coffee-table books, ad campaigns and travel marts. Private players too were quick to jump into the bandwagon. Ayurveda became synonymous with Kerala soon.

However, this has led to complacency among tourism officials. "Even during the lean season, we have almost 50 per cent occupancy," says Subhash C. Bose, Operations Manager of the Somatheeram Ayurvedic Beach Resort, Kovalam.

The resort has obtained a `Green Leaf,' the highest certification for ayurveda centres in the State. Resorts in Kerala vie with one another to woo the rushed visitor with ayurveda packages during the monsoon, said to be the best time for rejuvenation of the body.

"Ayurveda draws 98 per cent of our clients. Around 60 per cent of them come for treatment and the rest for the feel-good factor. Most of them are foreigners. Only 5 per cent of the total business comes from Indians."

The Somatheeram group was one of the first few to cash in on the prospects of ayurveda in 1985. Spurred by the good response, they set up the Manalatheeram Ayurvedic Beach Resort nearby in another six years. Ever since, there has been a spurt in `Kerala massage centres' along the beaches and in tourist spots across the State.

The flip side

However, many of these are not scientifically designed or do not have trained masseurs. "The basic tenets of ayurveda are ignored," says T. Sudhakaran, a Kalari exponent based in Kozhikode. Since ayurveda's conceptual canvas is wide, it is easy to find a market for anything under its brand name, says Dr P.K. Varrier, chief physician of Arya Vaidya Sala at Kottakkal, Kozhikode, adding that a proper licensing system and strict enforcement of rules are necessary.

Currently, there are only the Green Leaf and Olive Leaf certifications. Lack of legislation is posing a serious problem, says Bhushan.

`Kerala massage' is now more of a commercial product, with many packages that are tailor-made to suit the purse and needs of tourists, says N.P. Sharma, an ayurveda practitioner.

The trend in the West is changing. People are ready to spend more on health, and are looking at ayurveda more seriously — not as a holiday option, but as a mode of preventive treatment, says Jose Dominic, Managing Director of CGH Earth group, who recently attended a colloquium on ayurveda in France.

An Ayurveda Policy Bill, which lays down a three-year licensing system, gradation of ayurveda treatment centres, qualification for masseurs and monitoring mechanism, has already been drafted.

"Once the new law comes into force, we can crack down on illegal centres," says Bhushan. "There's nothing wrong in promoting ayurveda, which carries the essence of our glorious heritage. But it should be done in a scientific way. Ayurveda's global acceptance is due to its traditional moorings. We should not allow any unscientific propagation in the name of tourism," says Dr Varrier.

For the prospects of ayurveda (and invariably that of tourism) depend on the quality of services offered to foreign tourists, who are its brand ambassadors abroad.

Health tourism is picking up in a big way in Kerala and ayurveda is its mainstay, says Bhushan. And the Tourism Department is pulling out all stops to tap the State's potential. It has created short films on ayurveda, that will soon hit television channels like BBC and CNN.

"But this alone won't help. We need the full cooperation of the industry," he says. It is high time the resources are shored up. Otherwise, ayurveda may soon cease to be the tourism sector's magic potion.

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