God’s own country in search of superstar to attract tourists

Kerala Tourism shares a particular trait with notorious gangsters. The country’s first tourism super brand simply cannot resist being star-struck. Like the don who shamelessly wants to be seen with his hands around stars and starlets, Kerala Tourism has often shown a startling desperation to be associated with big global names. If in the early oughties it was Jackie Chan, its latest crush was for tennis legend Steffi Graf. In between, it had attempted to woo Amitabh Bachchan and, like a reckless flirt, even Brazilian superstar Neymar. The tragedy is, not once was the feeling reciprocated.

The tourism director, Mr U.V. Jose, though he seems to have acquired what can be termed a suitor’s fatigue, has not completely ruled out yet another attempt to woo a superstar. “At this point, I don’t see any rationale to have a global face for Kerala Tourism,” Mr Jose said. “Now, our priority is to interact with stakeholders and find out the reasons for falling tourist arrivals. Once we get to the root of the problem, we will assess whether we need to tag a big name along with the Kerala Tourism brand,” he said.

It was during the tenure of the last LDF government, when Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was tourism minister, that feelers were sent to Amitabh Bachchan. In 2006, the then tourism director, Suman Billa, met the superstar in Munnar during the shoot of Ram Gopal Varma’s Nishabd. But the deal suffered the fate of Nishabd: it fell flat. Later in 2010, Bachchan himself expressed an interest to represent Kerala Tourism in an interview to a private channel.

The CPM-led government jumped at the chance and promptly wrote to the superstar. But the CPM politburo, immensely powerful then, shot down the proposal saying Bachchan was already doing the job for Narendra Modi’s Gujarat.

Bachchan, the department has now realised, was not the right choice. “True, he was huge, and was already promoting innumerable other brands. But the only advantage he could bring to Kerala Tourism was visibility,” a former tourism director said. But Kerala Tourism had enough visibility both domestically and globally. There was also the danger that Kerala would be eventually associated with Bachchan rather than, say, its backwaters.

“That would have been silly. Bachchan can be made to mean many things but not anything related to travel,” the former director said.

In 2005, when Kerala Tourism was desperate for global visibility, kung-fu star Jackie Chan was seen as perfect. The Hong Kong-based global superstar was a frequent visitor to Kumarakom. Mr Chan is said to have declined the offer. Nonetheless, it is felt that a big name can enhance the value, if not of the entire brand, of a particular nuance of the destination. Ayurveda, for instance.

That was how Steffi Graf came into the picture. Not only was she a universal icon but she was also a sporting great who had aged gracefully, making her a perfect fit for a lifestyle option like ayurveda. Though a two-year Rs 3.9-crore package was worked out, the last UDF government failed to follow up on certain logistical issues raised by the tennis legend’s team. The tourism director said the deal is now off.

In 2014, before Graf was thought of and when FIFA World Cup was on in Brazil, Columbian defender Juan Zuniga caused the state’s tourism aspirations to go wild. Zuniga crushed Brazilian striker Neymar’s spine with his wicked jump from behind. The then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy asked doctors in Ayurveda Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, to urgently put up a treatment plan for Neymar. If the million-dollar striker could not be flown in, doctors were also asked to be ready to fly out any moment to treat Neymar in Brazil. FIFA, obviously, had other plans.

Former bureaucrat T Balakrishnan, widely credited with shaping the Kerala Tourism brand, is amused at this ‘fan complex’. “If you have a good product, you don’t need the prop of a superstar. I have never felt the need,” Mr Balakrishnan said. He has another logic, a more compelling one. “If the big name suffers a fall in stature, the destination that has tagged the star along, too, will have egg on its face.”