As European countries are at their peak of winter, tourists from there, well aware of Kochi’s heat, are visiting the country to hide out from the extreme cold. Just like how we Keralites travel to Ooty and Munnar to escape heat they are travelling here.

Generally by March foreigners visiting Kerala are very low but the scenario this time was completely different. Confirming the same M P Sivadathan, director, of Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society, said, Homestays and hotels have many foreign visitors. Even homestays at Fort Kochi are fully occupied.

Adding to this Joseph Dominic, the General Secretary of the Homestay Owners’ Welfare Association said Homestay owners can generate profit this time. Compared with the previous year, he said, it’s a very big change.

Foreign travellers can be seen strolling on the roads even during afternoons when the heat is at its peak.

Travellers from America, the UK, France, and Belgium are hitting Kochi to enjoy summer packages. In destinations like Kochi, heat is also being marketed. Looks like Kochi’s heat is also turning into a tourism product. Those companies who are marketing the heat packages by specifying the temperature are attracting many tourists.

These travellers who enjoy sunbathing are seen roaming around in the state instead of enjoying the sun at beaches. It is predicted that visitor count may gradually increase if the weather drops more in European countries. This may also extend Kochi’s tourism season to April.