THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was not just Slovakian Eunika Pogran and Maharashtrian Nikhil Pawar who began a new life when they exchanged vows underwater on January 26. Kovalam, where the underwater wedding took place, too is expected to begin life anew. The underwater match has been made at a time when Kovalam has touched a low point as a tourism destination. Occupancy has fallen, and even the season has virtually shrunk to 30 days from over 90 days. “Kovalam had beaches and Ayurveda, and nothing more,” said G.R. Sudhiesh Kumar of Kerala Hotel and Restaurants’ Association. “Suddenly, the underwater wedding has given Kovalam a new product to boast about,” Mr Kumar said.
Underwater wedding is big in other Asian destinations like Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand and also in the West, especially in the Bahamas Islands. Kovalam’s potential was hidden all this while. It was left to the underwater adventure company, Bond Safari Kovalam, to tap it. The wedding had taken place in the Grove Beach, where there is a natural reef that makes the waters are calm and clear. The larger beach, Eve’s Beach, has an artificial reef, which means much of Kovalam’s potential as an underwater destination remains to be tapped. Bond Safari has not created a new product, it was offering a value addition.
“Already Kovalam is a thriving wedding destination. Big hotels like Leela, Uday Samudra and Taj Green Cove conduct 20-30 weddings a year. It was time for a product differentiation, and we have came up with underwater wedding,” said Peter Jackson, the managing partner of Bond Safari. After the trend-setting exchange of vows, Mr Jackson said he had received five enquiries from North India. According to him, any healthy person can take part in an underwater marriage. “If you are not a diver or snorkeller, perhaps you might have to train for a day,” Mr Jackson said. World renowned naturalist David Attenborough had called the underwater experience "incomparably spiritual". "It will be quiet underneath, with only the most exotic kinds of fishes and plants to keep you company,” Mr Jackson said.
