Kerala's houseboats aren't going anywhere, but the Indian state wants travellers to look beyond the backwaters. Speaking at World Travel Market in London, the region's tourism minister P.C. Vishnunadh pitched a three-pronged case for visiting in 2027: ayurvedic wellness, community-run homestays and the Onam harvest festival, which the state is promoting to international visitors for the first time.
Wellness is the headline act. Kerala is the birthplace of ayurveda, a system of medicine practised in India for thousands of years that goes well beyond spa massages. At a proper ayurvedic resort, doctors assess you on arrival and build a full treatment plan covering diet, meditation and therapies — so expect a structured programme rather than a one-off rub-down. With wellness travel booming, the state is positioning itself as the destination for the real thing rather than an ayurveda-themed spa day.
Second on the list is tourism that actually pays locals. Kerala has been subsidising and training residents to open homestays, so instead of your money flowing to a hotel chain, it supports families renting out one or two rooms in their own homes. A directory of these homestays is in the works to make them easier to book, though it isn't live yet — for now, ask locally or book through established homestay platforms.
The new draw for 2027 is Onam, a ten-day harvest festival dated by the Malayalam calendar. In 2027 it begins on 12 September. Expect the Athachamayam parade with elephants marching beside floats of mythological scenes, performers painted as tigers, and snake boat races on the Pampa River with hundreds of rowers per boat. Food is a big part of it too: the Onam sadya is a nine-course feast of seasonal curries, soups, dal and desserts served on plantain leaves.
As the minister put it, Kerala can cater to a family with entirely different interests — one on the backwaters, one in the forest, one on the beach — without anyone leaving the state. That mix of wellness, culture and countryside is a strong pitch for a slower, more immersive India trip than the standard Golden Triangle circuit.
