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KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER

ISSUE: 197 JANUARY 2010 HOME WHERE TO GO VIDEOS Newsletter Archives SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER

Kerala Tourism launches one of the biggest branding exercises ever in India

Kerala Tourism is once again in the limelight. And this time it takes the credit for launching one of the biggest advertising campaigns in the national level, aimed to mesmerize the domestic tourists. And joining Kerala Tourism in this novel campaign is the Indian Railways, which has offered the exteriors of the coaches of the 'Rajadhani' train (2431 Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram Express) to adorn the vinyl graphics highlighting a collage of images from God's Own Country. This advertising campaign by Kerala Tourism includes the spectacle of a huge canvas, depicting the states soulful natural beauty such as serene beaches, emerald backwaters, lush hill stations, exotic wildlife, coconut trees, houseboats, boat race and enchanting art forms.

The novel campaign on rail was inaugurated in the third week of January, jointly by the Union Tourism Minister, Kumari Selja and Kerala Tourism Minister Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway station in New Delhi. The train with the tag line 'Chalo Kerala' in Hindi and 'Go Kerala' in English will run through the heart of India up to June 2010. The train during its course would travel through the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka to reach Thiruvananthapuram and will provide more visibility for the destination and offer it as a unique tourism product. Through this campaign Kerala can encourage more domestic tourists.

Inaugurating the function Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said, "Kerala is the first tourism destination in India to use train branding to promote the state in what will be one of the most visible and high impact campaigns ever undertaken by Kerala Tourism. I am confident that this unique marketing activity will showcase Kerala and attract more Indian travellers to the state."

"Commuters who use public transport, especially trains, are by far one of the most significant consumer groups in India in terms of expenditure and consumption. In terms of visibility, around 85,000 commuters use the platforms on a daily basis and the 'Go Kerala' campaign is a great way to reach out to this captive audience," says Dr. Venu V., Secretary, Kerala Tourism.

According to Director, Kerala Tourism, Mr. M. Sivasankar, this latest campaign by Kerala Tourism is part of the innovative promotion strategy to enhance the visibility for the destination and unique tourism products that Kerala has to offer while directly connecting with potential visitors from key source cities.

If one is to take stock of some of the recent productive tie-ups that Kerala Tourism got involved, the ones in the skies with Jet Airways and on the Internet with Google to create a buzz about the state as an amazing tourist destination are worth mentioning.