It’s time for poll tourism in Alappuzha

Alappuzha: As the election bugle has been sounded in the country, this is the time for poll tourism in Alappuzha,  the Venice of the East. Compared to other parts of the state, campaigning is different in Kuttanad where paddy fields will be  dotted with flags of all parties during this period. Also polling officials carry ballot boxes in boats around backwaters, which is a rare sight for tourists, including foreigners. Since 2004, when poll tourism was introduced here, several groups of foreigners have flown down to Alappuzha to witness   Kuttanad’s innovative style of political campaigns.

Mr Tomi Pulikkattil, a tour operator who introduced  poll tourism here, told Deccan Chronicle that poll tourism will be organised for foreigners this time also.   “General election is an exciting time with meetings and marches, noisy propaganda and posters seen everywhere which the foreigners enjoy. It also provides them  an opportunity to know how democracy works in this country.  The poll tourism has enabled tourists to have a close look at the electioneering in Alappuzha district through houseboat cruise,”  he says.

They are further attracted to Alappuzha due to the fact that the people of Kuttanad are highly  politicised  and actively participate in poll campaigns. “We send mails to the tour operators about a month prior to the election. The details of poll tourism are available on our websites and we send brochures with the pictures of political campaigns.  Last time, a team of 15 German tourists came for a 10-day package tour and they were taken around  in Alappuzha and Varkala constituencies,” Mr Pulikkattil says.

According to him,  the idea of poll tourism struck him when a Goan woman, married to a UK national, visited Alappuzha and took a houseboat ride in March 2004. “I started thinking about the potential of poll tourism when she asked  me why only posters were seen all along the walls in Alappuzha,” he says.
Mr Binu Sebastian, a local tour operator, says the foreigners are keen to know about  Kerala politics, especially about the communist party. “When we go for a trip to Kuttanad, the scene with a lot of red flags in the fields sparks off political discussions. Poll tourism is a fast selling idea among foreigners which needs to be tapped,” he says.