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The visit of an eight-member high-profile US delegation led by Michael Boulos, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, to Alappuzha last weekend to experience Kerala’s famed backwaters has raised expectations among tourism stakeholders of renewed international interest in the destination, particularly its globally recognized houseboat sector.
The visit comes ahead of Kerala’s new tourist season, which traditionally gathers momentum with the Onam celebrations and the Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race on Lake Punnamada in Alappuzha on August 22.
While Kerala’s backwater tourism has recovered strongly on the back of robust domestic travel in the post-Covid period, the international inbound market is yet to return to its pre-pandemic levels. Tourism stakeholders believe the high-profile US visit could provide greater global visibility to Kerala’s backwater experiences at a time when international travelers are beginning to finalize their winter holiday plans.
“Europeans and Americans generally travel in the months of November to February. Their travel plans are finalized around August and September. Therefore, this visit of Michael Boulos would be a big boost in terms of giving global visibility to backwater tourism in Kerala,” said Jobin Joseph, co-founder and director, Spice Routes Luxury Cruise, which hosted the delegation for a three-hour houseboat ride through the Alappuzha backwaters.
The visit also generated visibility for the destination on social media. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor posted pictures from aboard the luxury houseboat on his X account, bringing Alappuzha and its backwater experiences into the spotlight.
Speaking to the media later, Gor said the delegation had an “incredible time” in the backwater destination and would encourage more people to visit Alappuzha and Kerala.
The delegation also witnessed trials for the upcoming Nehru Trophy Boat Race from close quarters during its backwater cruise, helping them have the taste of the showcase event happening later this month in Lake Punnamada.
“As trials for the upcoming Nehru Trophy Boat Race were on, the delegation was able to witness those trials from close quarters during their backwater tour,” said Joseph, expressing the hope that the high-profile visit would encourage more international travelers to include Alappuzha and Kerala in their itineraries in the coming seasons.
The visit also comes nearly six years after the King and Queen of the Netherlands visited Alappuzha in October 2019. Stakeholders believe such high-profile visits could help address concerns among affluent and high-end international travelers about the safety and security of houseboat experiences in Kerala.
“There has been certain hesitation among high-profile people and top professionals to experience houseboats in Kerala. It may be safety and security related; we don’t know it exactly. These high-profile visits could help in removing such perception issues,” said Vinod Pournami, president, Houseboat Owners Association, Kerala.
According to Pournami, Kerala Tourism should also consider building destination marketing campaigns around such high-profile visits to maximize their promotional value and convert the visibility generated into tourist arrivals.
The houseboat sector, which remains one of the signature experiences of Kerala’s backwater tourism, is hoping that the increased visibility generated by the visit will coincide with the return of international travelers during the upcoming peak season.
With European and American travelers traditionally forming an important segment of Kerala’s winter inbound market, tourism stakeholders are looking at the coming months with renewed optimism that the high-profile visit could give the destination’s backwater tourism a much-needed international push.
