A true ambassador of French culture, Ms. Salira Lefevre the present director of Alliance Francaise made her tryst with Kerala a year back and ever since has become an avid admirer of the land and its people. She has been to places like Munnar and Kochin and is very much fascinated by the backwaters and houseboats, which she says are unique to Kerala. According to her, the beauty of the land is beyond comparison with other parts of India and is especially charmed by the breathtaking coastline. In her view the beaches out here are excellent and devoid of concrete structures. Among the local dishes, her palate favours Fish Mollie, Rice and Appam.

 On some of the other interesting elements of Kerala life, Ms. Salira Lefevre is very much impressed about the practice of Ayurveda and she had already tried couple of rejuvenating massages. From her talks, it seems that, in a short span of time, this charismatic young lady from France was able to identify the essence of Ayurveda when she remarked by saying that, Ayurveda is the best bet for relieving stress and managing depression. She also feels that Ayurveda has lot more to offer visitors from Europe and other parts of the world, especially at a place where the people are friendly and cooperative.

Along with her admiration for Kerala and its people Ms. Lefevre also have few suggestions when it comes to marketing Kerala a bit more in places like France and suggested campaigns in the form of advertisements in magazines, interactive CD-ROMs; especially highly informative ones like 'Kerala: the Green Symphony' & 'Ayurveda: The Mantra of Niramaya.' She also stressed the need for improving the basic infrastructures like road, hospitality services, beach oriented activities with a clear pointer towards the French people who are interested in adventure related activities like Scuba diving, Water Sports, Wind Surfing etc. Ms. Lefvre also emphasized on the need for portraying the Kerala Culture in a much more traditional and ethnic way, so as to impart a feel of home away from home among the visitors.