Tourism News

Honeymoons are celebrated in exotic, special and mostly romantic places. Kerala?s status as a paradise for honeymooners was affirmed when the lead characters in India?s number one TV serial ?Bidaai?, got their honeymoon destination confirmed in God?s Own Country.

The cast and crew of Bidaai, an ongoing serialized television drama on Star Plus TV during weekdays had a ten-day shoot schedule in Kerala for their honeymoon episodes. The filming took place in popular destinations like Munnar, Thekkady, Alappuzha, Kumarakom and Kovalam and includes scenes in tea plantations, beach and the romantic houseboats in the backwaters.

The honeymoon episodes, which started in the last week of February, will be shown for a total of six episodes on Star Plus channel. The series is aired on Star Plus channel, Monday to Friday from 9.00 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Television viewing is considered the greatest single domestic pastime in India and the influence of visual media combined with a popular series is a ?pull? factor for tourism destinations.

According to Mr. M.Sivasankar, Director, Kerala Tourism, one of the recent efforts was to raise the profile of Kerala as a honeymoon destination with the domestic market. Kerala?s coast and countryside is a huge part of its appeal as a destination for couples and the honeymoon episodes of ?Bidaai? on Star Plus will familiarise viewers with the landscapes that Kerala is so famous for and motivate them to visit the place, he added.

As per the tourism stats, 75,912,50 domestic tourists visited Kerala in 2008, marking an increase of 14% from the previous year. A trip on a houseboat and the backwaters of Kerala are the most popular activities for visitors. As a matter of fact, the houseboat of Kerala was nominated by the influential National Geographic Adventure magazine as one of the most perfect places in the world to propose to one?s lover.