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State Showcase
Kerala to design new monsoon campaign
Kerala Tourism is now working on a new ‘monsoon campaign' to attract visitors
to the state during the rainy season. Over the past two-three years, Kerala
Tourism has quietly worked to attract tourists during the off-season, especially
the monsoon.
The new campaign is a full-fledged effort to promote monsoon tourism in Kerala,
said B Suman, director, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala. In fact,
the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in a paper released last year, had
stated that Kerala has the potential to promote monsoon tourism.
In the past, off-season promotional schemes were designed
to highlight the traditional belief that ayurvedic treatments are most effective
when done during the monsoon. But the new campaign "goes beyond rejuvenation,"
Suman said.
Targeted at tourists in West Asia and North India, the campaign will use a mix
of advertising and events to attract visitors, he explained. The advertising
campaign, with three print ads, is likely to be launched by mid-March 2006 and
will emphasise the charm and romance of the monsoon. At the same time, Kerala
Tourism is also working out a schedule of events to be conducted across the
state during the monsoon months.
A monsoon food festival, a music festival and a theatre festival are some of
the events being planned. Kerala Tourism is also looking at organising a folklore
festival, as many of Kerala folk traditions and arts are strongly associated
with the monsoon, Suman added. The board is also working on creating niche monsoon
tourism products. According to him, special monsoon treks and other activities
will be developed as part of this process. The tourism department is working
with hotels and other members of the hospitality industry for special packages
as well.
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Dubai-based Emirates Airlines has launched flights
in the Dubai-Thiruvananthapuram sector on an eight flights per week schedule.
The Airbus 330-200, with seating capacity of 237, will be used for this
sector. Emirates also has plans to bring in a Boeing 777-200 as the eighth
flight.
According to Emirates senior vice president (Commercial
Operations) West Asia and Indian Ocean, Nabil Sultan, this will make homeward
journey easy for the 1.5 million Keralities living in West Asian countries.
Going by the government statistics, 41 per cent of them visit home every
year. The new schedule will link Kerala’s capital to 13 Gulf cities.
Industrialists in Kerala opine that the linkage is to be a turning point
to the state's economy. Leisure and medical tourism, IT business and air
freight industry will open access to several West Asia cities. Technopark,
which employs 8,500 people, could get scaled up to Asia's largest IT Park.
Gulf countries are already markets for ayurveda
players like Pankajakasturi Herbal, Santhigiri hospital and speciality
hospitals like Regional Cancer Centre and Kerala Institute of Medical
Sciences (KMS). Emirates SkyCargo, a subsidiary of the airline, would
facilitate the import of electronics and household goods and also assist
local exports to export foodstuff, textiles, coir products and handicrafts
to various West Asian Markets.
The airlines will also promote Kerala as a tourist
destination through its subsidiary, Emirates Holidays. Apart from the
leisure and medical tourism sectors, the airline would contribute to the
development of the state's IT and other key industries.
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