Indiantelevision.com Team

(9 April 2007 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The Indian Government has declared an allotment of investment of Rs 1000 crore towards promoting Kerala tourism this year, says Department of Tourism director tourism Sanjay Kaul while announcing the communication plans for this fiscal.

With the launch of a fresh television campaign titled "Life in a New Light" accompanied with the launch of a micro site www.dreamseason.keralatourism.org, Kaul expects a growth in traffic of International travellers to exceed 20 per cent and an increase in domestic tourists by 10 per cent, as opposed to the previous year.

In 2006, the recorded International tourists arrivals reached 4,28,000, a growth of 23.68 per cent over the previous year, and over 62,00,000 domestic tourists, a growth of 5.47 per cent for the same period. The total earnings from tourism has reached Rs. 9000 crores, with the sector employing approximately 10 lakh people across the state.

With the new online initiative, the Department of Tourism is looking to actively promote the Malabar region of Northern Kerala consisting of five districts Kasargod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram, which aims to draw in travellers during the months of April to September. The website will post discounted holiday packages by tour operators and hoteliers. As Kaul suggests "a common impression is that Kerala is an expensive place to visit."

Apart from the peak season, the campaign also seeks to position Kerala as an attractive destination the whole year round, stating "Anytime is a good time to visit Kerala - God's Own Country."

To thrust this further, the department is looking to take b2b road shows to International markets like Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and Singapore this year. To consolidate its position globally, previously road shows were organised in Paris, in association with India Tourism, and Berlin, as the European region is a strong market.

As part of its marketing plan within the country, road shows will also be organized in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata to create awareness for its tourism products. This b2b meeting platform provides an opportunity to build new business relationships, while consolidating existing ones.