Kerala, the south Indian state of India widely known as God’s Own Country has recently participated in the China International Travel Mart (CITM) 2019 at Kunming and also organised two roadshows in Shanghai and Beijing.
In a bid to enhance its East Asia initiatives, the tourism department of Kerala showcased its products in China, Singapore and Japan to promote the south Indian state’s as a must-visit destination and ensure its brand visibility.
Kerala Tourism delegation was led by its secretary Rani George, who made a presentation on the tourism products and potential of Kerala. Deputy chief of the mission Dr Acquino Vimal was the chief guest at the Beijing show. India Tourism also participated this event.
The Kerala tourism event was attended by 84 buyers and representatives of many media establishments, a press release said. China is also an key emerging market for Kerala Tourism. Kadakampally Surendran,the tourism minister of Kearala was said in the release how his state emphasising to make Kerala hospitable to Chinas outbound tourists as the worlds most populous country has the potential to give a fillip to the tourism economy of the state. Kerala is also looking into the issues like paucity of guides well-versed in Chinese language.
Kerala has become the first Indian state to be partnered with the China Ready programme, which has already been conducted in 48 countries, to increase footfalls from China, the release further said. A destination audit from Chinese tourists perspective to ascertain the attractiveness of the destination has also commenced in Alappuzha, , Munnar ,Thekkady and Kochi. Kerala Tourism has also participated in ITB Asia 2019 in Singapore, Asias leading travel trade show.
The Kerala pavilion was splashed with the theme of Human by Nature, a three-minute new campaign film, launched to appeal to high-spenders and backpackers. In terms of tourist arrivals, Singapore too is a leading market for Kerala. The country sent 9,460 tourists to Kerala in 2018, the press release said. Kerala Tourism also participated in Tourism Expo Japan, which was organised for the first time in Osaka. The event witnessed more than 2,25,000 visitors and representatives of over 1,000 businesses from 130 countries.
The backwaters and Ayurveda of Kerala had attracted 15,665 tourists from Japan in 2018, a 17 per cent increase over the previous year, the press release said.
