Jonty Rhodes heading to Kerala for 'long holiday'

South Africa cricketing sensation Jonty Rhodes, who scripted the nemesis of many a batsman through his acrobatic fielding, is heading for Kerala for a long holiday in God’s Own Country.

Rhodes, the former cricketer who earned a reputation for his quick feet and attractive stroke play, sprang a direct hit with his straightforward comment at the World Travel Market 2010 in London early this week, “I have heard a lot about Kerala. Now I am going there for a long holiday.”

Only a month ago, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba had famously said that Kerala was ‘everybody’s dream place’. The Ivory Coast captain's comment came at the world premiere of Kerala Tourism’s new promotional film, ‘Your Moment is Waiting’, in London in late August. The event at London’s Saatchi Gallery had attracted a host of celebrities, including Drogba and his wife, former England soccer player Gary Linekar, Rolling Stone lead singer Mick Jagger’s daughter Jade and British actor Bill Nighy.

“Jonty Rhodes visited the Kerala Pavilion at the World Travel Market, which opened on Monday, and asked for details about the state,” said Kerala Tourism Secretary, Dr Venu V.

The 130-sqm Kerala Pavilion is designed on the backwaters theme and has installations of Chinese fishing nets - an attraction in Kerala's scintillating backwaters. The stall has received an overwhelming number of visitors at the World Travel Market, which will run up to November 11.

The Kerala stall, the largest by any Indian state, is also the largest ever by Kerala Tourism. The stall also has a few surprises in store for visitors, including live Kathakali performances and a ‘Capture Your Moment in Kerala’ space, where visitors can get themselves photographed against the backdrop of the Kerala backwaters and download the image from keralatourism.org/moment.

The large number of visitors to the Kerala Pavilion shows a sense of optimism about the tourism sector in Kerala this year, Dr Venu said. “The arrival of tourists in Kerala is fairly good at the start of the season this year. The business in October was much better as compared to last year,” Dr Venu said, adding: “The tourism industry in Kerala is expected to do much better this year as compared to 2009.”

The Kerala Pavilion has also witnessed a series of meetings with tour operators from the UK. Though the ‘value for money’ package for tourists is still sluggish, after the economic downturn, tour operators said that ‘free independent traveller’ bookings are good. “India and Kerala remain popular tourist destinations for UK travellers,” said Dr Venu.

Kerala is becoming increasingly popular among British tourists with 1,41,653 arrivals in 2009, thus making the UK one of the biggest markets for God's Own Country. The hugely successful global premiere of Kerala Tourism’s latest campaign – ‘Your Moment is Waiting – has further ignited Britain’s fascination for Kerala. The land also grabbed more attention when Vogue UK, one of the world’s most renowned fashion and lifestyle magazines, captured the scenic beauty of the land in its ‘Indian summer’ shoot.