Kerala popularly known as God’s Own Country is the perfect holiday destination of India encompassing picturesque landscapes, breathtaking beaches, mesmerizing backwaters, beautiful hill stations and more exciting getaways, rich culture and heritage, traditional cuisine.

Welcome by Tiger

I was at The Leela Gurgaon on 4th August,2015 to attend the 360 degree preview of India’s favorite destination Kerala to witness the rich culture, heritage, magnificent landscapes, cuisine, music and art all in one show. As I entered the venue, a Tiger received us. It was an innovative welcome.

Lamp lighting Ceremony

After warm welcome, Mr. P.I. Sheikh Pareeth, IAS, Director, Kerala  Tourism lit the lamp. He then took us through various important aspects of Kerala Tourism which are described in next sections.

P.S.- You will see photographs of performances of various dances and art forms along the post. These were performed to provide the glimpse of Kerala’s cultural heritage.

Mr. P.I. Sheikh Pareeth, IAS, Director, Kerala  Tourism

Mr. Pareeth emphasised on the reasons why Kerala is a comprehensive and perfect holiday destination owing to its tranquil sunrises,spice plantations, wildlife, hill stations, Ayurveda. The temperature in Kerala ranges from 25 to 35 degrees celcius. Nat Geo Traveller has recognized Kerala as one of the top 50 travel destinations.

A glance on important numbers

Mohiniyattam dance form

• In 2014, foreign tourists’ arrival up by 7.60%
• Domestic tourists’ arrival up by 7.71%
• Increase in foreign exchange earnings by 15.07%
• Total Revenue Rs: 24885.44 crore
• Kerala as the most preferred destination for both Domestic and Internationals Tourists…
• Foreign Tourist arrival to Kerala during the year 2014 is 9, 23,366; it shows an increase of 7.60% over the previous year’s figure of 8, 58,143. Domestic Tourist arrival to Kerala during the year 2014 is 116, 95,411. It shows an increase of 7.71 % over the previous year’s figure 108, 57,811.
• Foreign exchange earnings for the year 2014 are Rs: 6398.93 Crores which recorded an increase of 15.07 % over the previous year.

Dance of feminine emotions

Visit Kerala – the Season of Surprises

Gorgeous dance form Mohiniyattam

Kerala Tourism has declared the period from April 2015 to April 2016 as “Visit Kerala Year” and an array of activities are planned to promote Kerala Tourism in markets like China, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, France and Germany through trade fairs and road shows.  Strong focus is laid on Ayurveda and monsoon as part of promotion.

Kerala will be promoted as a major “Wedding and MICE destination”

Kathakali dancer

Kerala Tourism will also focus on new unique attractions, to strengthen Kerala’s position as ‘God’s Own Country’ and to create a destination pull. Food festivals will be conducted in cities like Delhi and Mumbai to market Kerala’s authentic cuisine, one of the tourist attractions of the State.

Show of emotions through facial expressions

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) will come up with special discounted packages during the period.

Initiatives in God’s Own Country…

Kathakali dancer with inviting expression

Government of Kerala has rolled out a lot of initiatives till date, ‘Seaplane Project’ and ‘Project Muziris’; to enhance the travel experience and add to its array of attractions by respectively aiming  to improve last mile connectivity by air to its destinations across the state, consisting of the three airports of Trivandrum, Cochin & Calicut and the prime destinations viz. Astamudi, Punnamada, Kumarakom, Bolgatty and Bekal in the state and reinstating the historical and cultural significance of the legendary port of Muziris, which makes a part of Central Kerala.

Kalaripayyattu

The Marketing Initiatives for the year 2015 -16 are aimed at Value of Money off season packages targeting some important cities of the country namely; Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Surat.

Excellent pose of Kalaripayyattu

The state aims at being part of all International and Domestic Trade Fairs and Road Shows like MITT Moscow, TUR Gottenburg, ITB Berlin,  Dusseldorf Germany, Berlin Germany, Milan Italy, London UK. The

Domestic trade fairs include TTF, Chennai, IITT Mumbai, TTF Bangalore, IITM Kochi, ITM Chandigarh and many more.

Hop On Hop Off Boats

Upside down

The Hop on Hop off Boats service was started as a part of Kerala Tourism’s many other initiatives in the year 2014. As part of its innovative water-based tourism facilities, the Kerala Tourism Infrastructure Ltd., under the state’s Department of Tourism, launched the Hop-on Hop-off boat service and Water Taxis, for the first time in India, in the backwaters of Kochi and in the Spice Route project of Muziris.

Another performance

Keeping up with the Virtual World

In a short span of time, Kerala Tourism has made a mark in the Digital world. Kerala Tourism has 1.1 million plus Facebook fans, 44,400 plus Twitter followers, 6000 plus Instagram followers, 500 plus Pinterest followers, 700 plus foursquare followers, the Kerala Tourism YouTube channel has 7,189 subscribers and 8,578,373 views. We also have More than 250+ articles on Kerala, Backwaters and Ayurveda published in guest blogs.

Beautiful performance

The new website has been launched recently with a fresh look and increased accessibility with more information, 1500 pictures and 3000 videos.

Kerala Tourism’s website, which attracts the maximum number of visitors, has been translated into various Indian languages like Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu, as well as foreign languages including Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish.

Kerala has emerged as the No. 1 travel destination of the country in Google search trends, edging out TajMahal. This is a testimony to the international recognition of brand Kerala.

Cultural Events showcasing in Kerala

Dancers pose together

Onam 25th -31st August 2015

Onam is the biggest festival of Kerala. But, there is a lot more to Onam than being just a festival. Onam reflects the faith of the people of Kerala A belief in their legendary past, religion and power of worship. It shows the high spirit of the people who go out of the way to celebrate the festival. It is also a harvest festival. Kerala tourism organize events and exhibitions to add festive mood in the state.

Nishagandhi Festival: January

The annual festival will be held from January 20th – 26th, 2016. Renowned dancers perform BharataNatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kathak, Odissi, Modern Ballet and other folk forms. Artist and connoisseurs of dance from all over India come to enjoy this cultural treat. The festival is organised by the Kerala Tourism.

On the trail of the Spice Route

Another amazing initiative in the offering is the Spice Route Revival Project. Kerala’s initiative to revive and promote the two millennia-old spice route, that links the south western coast of India up to Europe, through tourism has received a boost, with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) pledging support to the venture.

Other Noteworthy Projects

So different they are but united they stand and add colours to Kerala – Mohiniyattam, Kalaripayyattu, Kathakali and Theyyam dancers

Kerala Tourism has come out with a unique nature based soft adventure holidays program NATVENTURE. The idea behind this is to use the key tourism products – Wildlife, Hill Stations, Beaches, Backwaters, etc. and engage the possibilities of adventure activities they offer. Kerala Natventure activities include Trekking, Camping, Rock Climbing, Jungle, Wildlife Safaris, Bird Watching, Cycling, Kayaking, Canoeing and Paragliding.

Another forward initiative is the launch of the new ‘Great Backwaters’ campaign. The campaign aims at unveiling the state’s majestic backwaters as a single unique destination.

A new campaign, ‘Home of Ayurveda’ was also launched to promote Ayurveda through all media. ‘Bakel’ has been introduced as a new destination in North Kerala.

From a seasonal tourist place, Kerala was elevated to an all season destination through a successful Dream Season campaign launched during the off-season. Kerala has seven 5* hotels and many more luxury and boutique hotels.

Awards and Accolades…

Kerala Tourism also bagged a number of national as well as international awards such as the National Tourism Award for the Best Rural Tourism Project in Kumarakom, ITB Berlin – Golden City Gate Award (Print Campaign), Best Family & Best Value for Money Destination and many more.

I myself have visited Kerala and experienced backwaters, beaches, hill stations. My trip was only for nine days but it was still incomplete. There is a strong urge within  to visit Kerala again to experience new Destinations and traditional as well. I will try my best to visit Kerala in the year 2015-2016. You too must. Have a blissful trip.

Nidhi KM

Viharin.com