Kerala is ever growing, ever enchanting

Sweden-national Marianne Hard af Segerstad flies almost twice a year to Kerala for the past fifteen plus years and has penned almost four tour guides about the place, is all enthusiastic about the growth the God’s own Country has witnessed. In an exclusive interview to Tourism News Live, she recollects her first experience here and tells us how Kerala has changed…

“The infrastructure, quality and standard of living and facilities have increased manifold in Kerala in the recent years when compared to other developing states,” says Marianne, Co-Owner of Ganesha Travel, who has been visiting the God’s own Country at least twice in a year since 2001. “Kerala is a place which holds everything a traveller will look for in its platter – the land has beaches, hill stations, backwaters, and above all the rich history of the land,” she adds.

At a time when the whole world is crying over the issue of over-tourism, Marianne says, it is good that a destination develops. “We can never direct a destination not to develop and be just on it rustic roots even when the whole world around it is taking new steps. Rather we need to appreciate the legacy of the land and try to understand its history and culture and appreciate the heights it has reached,” adds Marianne who penned four guide books about Kerala.

Marianne recollects her first experience in Kerala where she was sick, worried and surprised by the dancing snakes on the roads, sights of women sitting on the roadside crushing metal using hammers, the bumpy rides on the ambassador cars. She says it’s good to see the state developing at such a speed that it is home to magnificent hotels/resorts which can cater to any class of traveller, medical tourism opportunities, the magic of Ayurveda and the hospitality of the people.