The European guests of the then Travancore kingdom discovered the potentiality of Kovalam beach as a tourist destination in the 1930s. But the real fame as an ideal beach resort was won later for the Kovalam beach in the early Seventies with arrivals of the masses of 'Hippies'. It was a debut of the transformation of just a casual fishing village of Kerala into one of the most important tourist destinations in the world- the Kovalam beach. Now some foreign companies are bringing chartered tourists in a large number to Kovalam beach apart from the usual travelers, most of them are repeating travelers.
Kovalam was brought to the public eye by the Maharaja of Travancore. Over the past three decades, the place has been well developed, and now figures prominently on the world tourism map. Kovalam is just 16 kms away from Trivandrum.Today Kovalam beach is known as the "Paradise of the South".
