Kerala Tourism, Kochi Port to host Volvo Ocean Race

MUMBAI: It’s the first for India, and it’s an added feather in Kerala’s hat. The Kerala Tourism along with the Kochi Port Trust is bringing the world’s premier catching event, Volvo Ocean Race, to India.

The deal will be sealed on Friday, which will then officially make the Kochi port and Kerala one of the glamourous ports and states on the world map.

Here’s how: The Volvo Ocean Race is a 33,000-nautical mile odyssey of unimaginable highs and desperate lows, that is played out on a worldwide stage over nine months. It takes place in key cultural and economic regions across the globe as well as the remote reaches of the planet.

Speaking to ET, Dr Venu, secretary, Kerala Tourism, said, “I see this as an opportunity for Kerala Tourism to be featured in the same league as Rio and Singapore. For yatching lovers, the race will ensure that Kerala becomes a familiar name. The Volvo Ocean Race is targeted for the luxury and elite segment of world travellers, which constitutes the top 1-2% of the global population. We are attempting to attract this segment of travellers and position Kerala as a yatching destination.”

The overall budget to host such an event, which is scheduled to touch Kerala on December 3, 2008, is pegged at Rs 15 crore. Starting in Alicante, Spain in late 2008, the race is looking at a course that could navigate through Cape Town, Kochi, Singapore, Shanghai and then go on to South America and the US.

Mr N Ramachandran, chairman, Kochi Port Trust, said, “We’ve just completed and finalised the draft agreement with the Volvo Ocean Race. The yatchs will be docked here until the December 13, 2008. The 10 days will encompass a number of in-port events and will replicate a festive activity including events such as in-port racing and number of cultural events. The aim is to draw a number of Indian and foreign tourists.”

Close to 5,000 hotel rooms will be required at this time to host the estimated number of travellers in Kerala. The plan is also to televise, and hence bring in some broadcasting revenue for the sport, apart from positioning Kerala as a cruise destination. Interestingly, the Volvo Ocean race charges e10 million as a license fee to be a part of the event. However, the race has made an exemption for India, as it is hosting it for the first time.

Andy Hindley, race director, Volvo Ocean Race, said, “We decided to exempt India (Kerala) as we believe we will leave our sailing legacy behind. Secondly, it makes very good sense for our sponsors apart from Volvo such as Erickson, Puma and a Lenta, a leading retail chain in the US.

Mr Hindley also said that India was an opportunity for a new route as the attempt was to move the race away from the traditional route which was South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and then Brazil. “We considered four ports in India and looked at Mumbai, Chennai, Goa and Kochi.”