Making an Impact

"It is a unique part of the world and we want to show that through building a race village that can accommodate this race on its first visit to Asia."

The view from the top floor of the Cochin Port Trust building is spectacular, staring out from its vantage point at Willingdon Island over the curves of the Vembanad Lake. It is here where the Trust's chairman, N Ramachandran, has spent the last 10 months co-ordinating the operation to transform a city in south-western India into a host port for a global sporting event.

"It is a nice view," he agrees, but it is not his particular view that he deems important. "What is important is the world's view of the region as a tourist destination."

It is the reason why we are here. Way back on January 18, when the Cochin Port Trust and Kerala Tourist Board capped months of discussions by signing a port agreement with the race's organisers, it was another step in their mission to make Kerala a location of choice for the world's travellers.

"This race will enhance our visibility to the world," Ramachandran added. "It is a unique part of the world and we want to show that through building a race village that can accommodate this race on its first visit to Asia."

To that end, the operation has been enormous.

The Cochin site, stretched across more than two acres, has undergone the kind of facelift that an ageing film star would pay millions for. In this case the surgery has cost 300 million rupees, roughly 4.7 million EUR at today's exchange rate.

It has gone towards renovating a 40,000-square foot building to serve as the race office and media centre; a 60,000-square foot exhibition centre; and a programme of events that includes snake-boat racing, lots of music and a daily three-hour dose of cultural performances. Throw in a separate 200 million rupee development of a jetty, and it was a place transformed by the time the race village was inaugurated last night.

"A lot of hard work from a lot of people has gotten the site to this stage," Ramachandran said. "The challenge has been getting it done in time and finding sponsorship in a difficult economic time. A lot of people have worked hard on this."

Indeed, more than 500 people were given temporary employment in the final weeks to create an infrastructure that will support huge crowds of people over the fortnight of the stopover.

"We believe that at least 50,000 to 100,000 people will be visiting the race village on the important dates," Ramachandran revealed. "On the days in between we are expecting at least 50,000 footfalls."

The majority of visitors will be locals and domestic tourists from elsewhere in India, according to Ramachandran, but his hope is that foreigners and teams will discover what Kerala is shouting about. To underline his point, National Geographic Traveller magazine described it as one of the "10 paradises of the world".

So far that reputation has already propelled a healthy tourism industry. In 2007, 5.2 million foreign travellers visited the region, an increase of 20.37% on 2006. And some 66.4 million domestic travellers also visited, representing a 5.92% rise on the previous year.

The early signs for this year are good as well, with the figures from the first half of the year showing a growth of 19.23% against the corresponding data from 2006. But it is the desire for further growth that has motivated the decision to bring the race here.

Specifically, it is the media attention that the event generates. The event is expected to reach more than 1.8 billion TV viewers in more than 180 countries and the exposure has Dr Venu, secretary for Kerala Tourism, relishing the arrival of eight yachts and a flotilla of journalists.

"Apart from being the most high profile water sporting event that India has ever witnessed, the event would offer unparalleled global visibility to Cochin and Kerala," he said. "For nearly two weeks in December, Cochin will bask in the international media limelight."

The international media and all that consume it will get a nice view.