Simon Woodroffe

In a recent visit to Kochi in Kerala, where he was invited to address the business community as a motivational speaker, Simon Woodroffe shared with us his impression about Kerala. Simon has a special interest in people and that easily made Kerala endearing to him. “It is a peaceful place,” Simon said.

Receiving formal education only up to the age of 16 didn’t deter Simon Woodroffe from going on to become a successful personality in life. He attributes his success in life to the sheer enthusiasm that he possessed and the ability to dream creatively. Besides these innate qualities, Simon was well aware of his own ignorance that enabled him to have success as a constant companion.

In 1995, Simon met a Japanese man in a restaurant, which became a turning point for him. The meeting led Simon to come up innovative thoughts, which further encouraged him to explore unique possibilities in the food industry. Simon did research for two years that eventually resulted in the establishment of Yo Sushi restaurants. Just as a musician finds it risky and difficult to produce another album after his or her debut one, Simon too underwent the same kind of creative pain in his successive ventures. But, his boundless enthusiasm kept him in good stead, enabling him to overcome the challenging phase.
 
In 2008, Simon was in Mumbai for a conference and he immediately sensed opportunities for starting Yo Sushi restaurants in India. In his speeches on catering, he highlighted more on why people go to a restaurant than on the services offered, the quality of food or the various dishes available in a restaurant. Simon believes that people go to a restaurant for a whole new kind of experience than anything else.

As a motivational speaker, the crux of Simone’s speeches is “If you have a dream, follow it, and do the best that you can. You enter with nothing but enthusiasm; and let it take the lead. Get interested in something and that should propel you further.” He says he has not done anything just for money or pleasure.

Simon’s awareness on Kerala was very vague, until his friend Matthew Gebb introduced him to the charms of this exotic place. Simon lives in a houseboat in UK and is naturally very keen about boats. Being the case, he was quite eager to undergo a houseboat experience in Kerala. The style and design of house boats in Kerala impressed him a lot, which he described as “fabulous.” For Simon, it has the same elegance of a beautiful woman. He had a boat ride from Alappuzha to Ernakulam, which for him was an “adventurous experience.” But he feels he would love to take a smaller boat during his next visit to Kerala and favoured one without five star comforts. Simon feels that a bit of adventure too can be included in travel packages, which could pave the way for promoting adventure tourism in Kerala.

Interestingly, at one stage of our conversation, Simon brought to our attention the need to improve Kerala’s backwater tourism, which he feels is still in its early stages. “But it is a fantastic business with Kerala having a lot to gain from it’” said Simon. The only drawback he noticed was that it had become a rich man’s game. But Kerala has more potential than even Kashmir, where the boats are usually static. He made references to how sea planes are used in Scandinavia, which after the initial investment is less expensive later and can give a real spurt to tourism.

Kerala should develop more travel circuits, especially in boating, feels Simon. There can be customized routes rather than standard packages. He is of the opinion that Kerala should take the “road less traveled” approach with a package of 4-5 days stay in house boats with yoga and meditation teachers staying with the guests.

Kerala’s tourism should be built on solid grounds and it should be in a gradual and consistent manner. It should, however, be in an eco-friendly manner because it is an investment. “It should benefit our children and our children’s children, and that would be possible only if we protect our ecology,” Simon said.

According to Simon, producing programs for Holiday TV and publishing travel write-ups in newspapers across Europe and elsewhere would pay rich dividends for Kerala. Celebrities can be roped in for this, and photo features by photo journalists can be made use of. He expressed his interest in joining such campaigns and was willing to team up with similar people.

Simon Woodroffe said that he was very much interested to visit beaches in Kerala the next time and also visit some of the heritage spots. Regarding Kerala cuisine; Simon said that he loved fish more than anything else; but not the spicy kind. He said that fish is very palatable. He also emphasized that Yo Sushi menu is simple; yet complex.

Simon Woodroffe's link with India goes much further back in time. His father was in the British Indian Army in the 1930s till up to the 40s and he was stationed in north India and was President of the Indian Cavalry Association in UK.