Interview

Kerala Tourism ropes in new brand ambassador, to launch new campaign

Kerala Tourism is all set to introduce a new brand ambassador, says P Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Kerala Tourism at ITB Berlin exclusively to Tourism News Live. “A new campaign will be launched in the coming months with a new brand ambassador to promote Kerala to the globetrotters across the world,” he said. The department had earlier announced that it has plans to rope in a celebrity artiste or a sports person, and not a global face.

At present, most number of travellers are visiting the central and south Kerala. The Kerala Tourism department is planning to promote the unexplored Northern region by introducing a host of tourism projects. The Tourism Director has also said that the department has plans to project the state as a year-round destination rather than a season-based destination. “We are going big with a re-branded version where Kerala will be promoted as a 360 degree – 365 days destination with new products coming up,” said the Tourism Director.

The new campaign would give more prominence to adventure, MICE and cruise tourism along with the conventional promotions of leisure, Ayurveda and backwaters. “The campaign is going to sustain Kerala Tourism’s core strengths of Ayurveda, leisure and backwaters. In the meantime, it is going to enter into new territories of adventure, cruise tourism and MICE,” he elaborated.

Other than the conventional platforms, the department is also planning to attract the international and domestic travellers through digital marketing. “Realising the scope of social media and its effect on people, the department is planning to utilize the medium to its fullest to promote Kerala among the travellers across the world,” added Balakiran.

Kerala government is targeting to double international tourists footfalls in the next five years and is also expecting domestic tourism to increase by 50 per cent during the same time frame. Referring to the target, Balakiran said, “Kerala Tourism is taking all the possible steps to reach the magic target of doubling the tourist arrivals by 2020”.

Please find the video of the interview with P Balakiran IAS, Kerala Tourism Director.