Kerala to take ayurveda tourism to next level

"Beaches, backwaters, hills and ayurveda are the four pillars of tourism in Kerala. We realise there is still a large potential within ayurveda to attract people to our state," says state Tourism Secretary Suman Billa.

"So far, when it came to ayurveda, we mainly focused on well-being. But there are also the curative and cosmetic sides, and these are what we now also intend to promote," Billa told IANS in an interview.

"What we will offer is the art and science of living, and living well."

He said while ayurvedic massages were hugely popular, attracting tourists from India and abroad, the system also offered cures for ailments such as back pain, rheumatism and psoriasis that needed to be advertised better.

"Similarly, we have also promoted the integration of ayurveda with yoga so that when a tourist goes back after undergoing a treatment, he or she also maintains a healthy lifestyle on a daily basis," Billa said.

"Surya namaskar, for example, is known to exercise as much as 97 per cent of the muscles. So when a person undergoes an ayurvedic therapy, it seeks to restore a balance in your system, and yoga can help in maintaining it."

Billa said a pilot project would also be started on a public-private partnership mode where all forms of medicine and well-being -- allopathy, ayurveda, unani and siddha -- will come under one roof to offer an integrated system.