By Sreekumar Raghavan in Bangalore, Thekkady, Coorg

Dine in spice plantations, wine by vineyards and sleep in the middle of tea and coffee gardens! It is not a reel show, but a reality — that too in India. You can thank commodity-based tourism, which has arrived in India with a bang, for all this. At a time when tourism has even touched space with Virgin owner Richard Branson offering trips to the hidden mysteries of Universe, India is steadily taking the baby steps in commodity tourism.

Your dream destination could be in breathtakingly beautiful Coorg where coffee grows at an altitude of 2000-3500 feet above sea level or in Thekkady or it could be in Nashik, India’s wine district, where wine pubs are being set up in the vineyards.

Now, spice plantations in Goa, tea plantations in Munnar and oyster farms in a remote village in Kerala’s Kasargod district, all speak the same language of commodity tourism. In its looks, feel, ambience, colours, texture, environment, it offers a hide away from the routine smoky atmosphere that urban life is made of.

Get Spices Futures & Spot Prices Here!

Commodity-based tourism is slowly gaining ground in a country where even the south-west monsoon is being sold as an experience even though it might bring unexpected disasters to people, crop and cattle. Perhaps, India is acquiring and imbibing several such ideas that have been implemented in France, USA and other developed nations.

How is this niche industry growing in a market that had only traditional hill stations, beaches, backwaters and heritage sites? It could be anybody’s guess. It is either because tourism industry wants to provide a better offering and value to the discerning traveler or it could be that some commodities facing a market crisis want such a prop up to survive. Or, at times, the motivation has been to create new demand for a commodity — like vineyards in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. Either way it is a win-win situation for the commodities and tourism industry.

“In developing our properties, we have adopted the core values of ecological sensitivity, adoption of local community and maintaining the local community values passed down from generations,” Jose Dominic, CEO of CGH Earth, which runs a handful of projects based on heritage and green tourism like Bangaram Island in Lakshwadeep, Coconut Lagoon in Kumarakom and Spice Village in Thekkady, said.

Tata Cofee and Tata Tea ventured into commodity-based tourism almost by accident. When a voluntary retirement scheme was introduced in the Tata group in mid-1990s, many of the bungalows in their tea and coffee plantations occupied by their managers became vacant.

“Therefore, we thought of converting these bungalows situated in Coorg and Chikmagalur coffee plantations into resorts. If these buildings remained vacant it would have deteriorated,” MH Ashraf, managing director of Tata Coffee Ltd, told Commodity Market. Again in Munnar, where Tata Tea took over Kannan Devan Tea Company, many bungalows became vacant and got converted into tourist resorts. These bungalows — apart from being situated amidst the backdrop of the lovely flora and fauna of this hill station — offer a peek into tea cultivation and processing.

“India’s coffee plantations are models of inter-dependence. Diverse majestic trees allow coffee to bloom under shade, attracting rainfall and providing sanctuary to numerous species of birds, animals and plants. At the same time, the birds, beasts and fallen leaves contribute to the organic replenishment of the soil, which help plants like coffee take root. This pattern of intercropping once again provides and makes for the distinctive flavours of Indian coffee,” according to coffee expert Sunalini N Menon, who has written extensively on major coffee growing regions of India. In some states, the government and tourism department are also catalysts in promoting commodity tourism like in Maharashtra (wine) and Karnataka (coffee).

The latest buzz in the south Indian tourism industry is that a regular coffee tourism circuit is being developed towards popularising the cup that cheers. Many Indian coffee plantation bungalows are now offering concept coffee tours in Hassan and Chikmagalur in Karnataka.

In Bengal, both the government and private entrepreneurs are involved in tea tourism promotional activities. Riding on the popularity of Darjeeling Tea, a private tea firm — Lochan Tea Ltd — launched a three-month International Tea Trading course that attracted students from France. In 2005, the Union government had accepted a proposal from the West Bengal government to promote tea tourism in the Dooars and Terai regions of North Bengal. Around Rs 80 crore was approved for the project, which entailed involvement of the private sector.

WINE BY THE VINEYARD

Wine tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and India has also joined the bandwagon as the vineyards located in remote areas realised that if travel and tour operators cooperated, tourists would reach them and sip an extra glass which is good for the industry as well. It was the foresight of young enterprising entrepreneurs — some of them were software professionals in Pune and Nashik — that brought the idea of merging wine industry and tourism a few years ago.

It is a heavenly experience to walk through beautiful vineyards, observe wine making and sip it at the tasting rooms. The guided tasting by knowledgeable staff will help understand wine more easily. It will also help in promoting wine as a beverage. You can buy wine on the spot also. Globally, similar tours are conducted in California’s Napa Valley and in New Zealand. Other places promoting wine tourism are Melbourne, Bordeaux (France), Cape Town and Florence.

NETTING A CATCH

When Gul Mohammed wanted to promote tourism based on oyster theme, the motivation was that more tourists would mean more exports for mussels and oysters for which Kannur and Kasargod districts in Kerala are famous for. This, in turn, would enhance the livelihoods of the local fishermen. “Initially, when I set up this oyster theme resort with five cottages — three of them appropriately named Cottage Mussel, Cottage Clam, Cottage Oyster — response was poor. Then I launched a website and people from Bangalore, Germany and other destinations came in search of this unique experience. Then on it spread by word of mouth,” Gul Mohammed said. Each of the fishermen huts can be converted into home stays for tourists that will provide additional income to fishermen, Gul Mohammed believes.

SPICY SPOTS

India’s major spice growing regions have all become hot favourites for spice theme based tourism — be it Vandenmedu and Thekkady in Idukki district of Kerala, North Eastern states or in Goa where the traditional tourist attraction was the beach. Spice plantations in Goa are giving the much-needed boost to the coastal state’s tourism industry. Hidden away from the tourist hotspots, these huge spice plantations produce many of Goa’s famed aromatic spices. “It was a memorable and educative experience to go through the spice plantations in Ponda,” Gunter Pekin, a German tourist said.

Get Commodity Futures Prices on your Mobile Now!

Apart from a variety of plants like custard apple, banana, citrus fruits and pineapples, here tourists also get a chance to take a bath in lakes and streams after reaching the beautiful plantations on elephant backs. They also get a chance to watch cuckoos, owls, hornbills and parrots by the lakesides. Added attractions are: a traditional Goan meal served on crisp banana leaves and fenny, a Goan drink made from cashew apple. Black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, chilli, coriander and betel nut are the popular spices grown in Goa.
  Continued...