Will Steffi Graf play Kerala's ayurveda brand ambassador? No one knows

The news that tennis great Steffi Graf had signed on to promote Kerala’s ayurveda heritage generated many headlines last year. But as it turns out, no agreement has been signed with Graf yet. When ETPanache contacted officials at Kerala tourism last week as the statewide elections results were announced, they admitted that Graf had not visited Kerala or experienced any of its ayurveda facilities. And no formal overtures have been made to her yet.

However, there had been an increase in visitors from Germany in 2015. The department is hesitant to attribute the spike to the Graf. In a phone conversation, state tourism secretary UV Jose revealed that while 76,000 visitors came to Kerala for ayurveda treatment in 2014, the figure rose by 2,000 in 2015.


Image: Steffi Graf (Facebook)

“Germany is an important market for us,” said Jose, adding that the UK, France and Russia also contributed significant number of tourists. Why was Graf’s name suggested as ambassador in the first place? A department official, on condition of anonymity, said that since ayurveda was related to fitness and activity, Graf seemed a good choice not just because of her nationality but also her respectability in global sports.


Image: Steffi Graf (Facebook)

For now, Graf’s name is part of a tourism office proposal that has been approved by the previous government. But with a new power centre in the state, it’s uncertain if Kerala’s dream of getting the tennis star will come to be.