Union Minister of State for Culture, Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma, today launched 'Visit Kerala' 2015-16, a high voltage all-year tourism campaign that promises to present travellers to 'God's Own Country' a lifetime experience of the state's natural beauty, cultural splendour, culinary traditions and famed hospitality.
"Kerala needs to be promoted across the world," said Dr Sharma, who promised central assistance to the state to raise the profile of the state as a top tourist destination in the world.
Describing "cleanliness, security and hospitality" as the three major ingredients of a successful tourism model, Dr Sharma said the country needs to propagate its culture and heritage around the world through tourism.
The minister, in his inaugural address, made a strong case for women empowerment through their participation in the growth of tourism, saying a major share of women personnel in the tourism industry has to be ensured in the future.
Kerala Chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy, who addressed the launch ceremony of 'Visit Kerala' through a video message, said visitors to Kerala during 2015-16 would find the state's destinations more attractive and full of surprises.
"Make the most of 'God's Own Country' with a visit to Kerala," Shri Chandy told the gathering, which included the Who's Who of Indian tourism and travel industry.
State Tourism Minister Shri A P Anilkumar said: "Starting this Vishu (Kerala New Year), on April 15, up to the next Vishu in 2016, every visitor to Kerala will experience 'God's Own Country' like never before. Every visitor will take home memories that will last a lifetime."
Shri Anilkumar said Kerala would take tourism to the "next level" during the new campaign, while appealing to the Centre to continue the financial assistance to the state as in the previous years.
"The 'Visit Kerala' campaign is also fuelled by the synergy between the private and public sectors in the tourism industry," he added.
Union Tourism Secretary, Dr Lalit K Panwar, the Guest of Honour, said creativity and imagination by the state tourism department have sustained the visitor's interest in Kerala over the years.
"Ayurveda and backwaters would be incorporated in the central government's global tourism promotion
campaign," Dr Panwar said, adding Kerala has come a "role model" for other states in promoting tourism through its multidimensional programmes.
"The complaints received by the Tourism ministry from tourists are almost "zero" as far as Kerala is concerned," Dr Panwar said while explaining that people of Kerala treat their guests with utmost friendliness and respect.
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Kerala Tourism Secretary Shri G Kamala Vardhana Rao, who made a theme presentation on the new campaign initiative, said the major focus of the campaign would be to strengthen the promotion of tourism products that are unique to the state, such as Ayurveda, Spice Route Heritage and Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
"The central theme of tourism in Kerala is 'Responsible Tourism'," Shri Rao said, adding the 'Visit Kerala 2015' campaign would include an array of innovative programmes, ranging from Ayurveda to adventure trips, from destination weddings to heritage tourism and food festivals to quiz competitions.
Kerala Tourism Director Shri P I Sheik Pareeth welcomed the gathering while Kerala Tourism Additional Director Smt Anupama T V proposed vote of thanks.
UAE Ambassador to India, His Excellency Saed Mohamed Almheiri, was present on the occasion.
Among those who addressed the gathering included Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Shri Subhash Goyal, Kerala Travel Mart Society president Shri Abraham George, Kerala Tourism Advisory Council member Shri Jose Dominic, and Kerala Confederation of Tourism Industry president, Shri E M Najeeb.
A Kathakali presentation was showcased on the occasion.
As part of the campaign to showcase the state's alluring destinations and products that justify its moniker as God's Own Country', Kerala Tourism will foray into new markets in China and Sri Lanka through trade fairs, road shows and familiarisation tours. In addition, it will launch aggressive campaigns in traditional markets like the UK, France and Germany to woo potential travellers by holding trade fairs and road shows. Consumer fairs and familiarisation trips will be introduced in upcoming markets like the US.
Leveraging the increased air connectivity, a focused Ayurveda and monsoon campaign will be conducted in the Middle East where 90 per cent of the Indian diaspora is from Kerala.
'Visit Kerala 2015' will also promote Kerala Tourism products like cultural festivals, weddings, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE). It will also showcase the Spice Route and Muziris heritage through an international campaign to promote heritage tourism in the state.
Competitions like 'Visit Kerala Contests' will be conducted for tourists, who have holidayed in Kerala in 2015, with attractive gift vouchers, complementary return holidays and discounts. Also, there will be social media and online campaigns to promote visits to the state, highlighting the festivals and events, along with the contests.
To create a destination pull, food festivals will be held in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad to market Kerala's authentic cuisine, one of the tourist attractions in the state.
Considering the fact that 2015 has more than 13 long weekends, campaigns for weekends and short breaks will be conducted in metros and nearby cities.
As part of the destination development initiative, Kerala will embark on industry-driven cleanliness campaign in major destinations in the state. A hop-on hop-off bus will also be introduced in Thiruvananthapuram to enable the tourists go around the city with a single ticket.
Further, the government will provide incentives to the partners of international trade fairs and tour packages with major domestic airlines to promote domestic tourism. Kerala Tourism will also brand and design a new set of Kerala souvenirs and market it to the tourists with the support of Kudumbashree units.
The recent unique marketing strategies of Kerala Tourism, like the branding of Mumbai Metro Train and theme branding of the hop-on and hop-off boats and water taxis in Kochi, have paid handsome dividends. Its sustained efforts to communicate with a worldwide audience about the pristine destinations in the state earned for it the Most Outstanding Marketing Campaign Award for 2014. Likewise, it won the ITB-Berlin's Golden City Gate Gold Award, known as the Oscar of Tourism Communications, for the Great Backwaters Campaign launched last year.
In March this year, Kerala Tourism was conferred the national Web Ratna Award, instituted by the Union government, for exemplary e-governance initiative through the Internet. Launched in 1998, the Kerala Tourism website today receives around 4.2 million visits and 14 million page views annually.
