KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER
Kerala Tourism campaign wins Olive Crown Awards
Kerala Tourism's print campaign on World Tourism Day last year that encouraged travellers to save precious rainforests through simple and conscious actions, has won the prestigious Olive Crown Award for communicating 'sustainability'.
Designed by Kerala Tourism's creative agency, Stark Communications, the print advertisement that urges people not to use a hotel laundry to help sustain rain forests, enabled it to bag the only Gold Award in the Press Services category.
The Olive Crown Awards presented by the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) recognizes excellence in communicating 'sustainability'.
The award function was held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Mumbai recently. Mr. Ajith Gopinath, Associate Creative Director, Stark Communications, received the award from Mr. Praful Patel, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises and Mr. Piyush Pandey, one of the most admired names in Indian advertising today.
The Kerala Tourism print ad showing the State's pristine hills and forests on an imaginary towel as the green turf with a message - A simple act can wipe away more than you can imagine - reminded travellers to put their simple acts together, every time they travel.
Mr. Suman Billa, Secretary, Kerala Tourism said that the travel and tourism sector in the State stood hand-in-hand with the millions of visitors in promoting and implementing sustainable tourism initiatives. "We firmly believe in the partnership between travellers and the trade in Kerala towards conserving and preserving our nature," he said, adding it takes only simple actions by travellers to show that they care for nature.
The Kerala Tourism campaign beat tough competition at the Olive Crown Awards that received entries from several other Asian countries. The State Tourism Department had won the National Award for the Best Rural Tourism Project for Kumarakom's Responsible Tourism model last month for successfully linking the local community with the hospitality sector for eco-friendly tourism.
"Sustainability is at the centre of Kerala's tourism development model," said Ms. Rani George, Director, Kerala Tourism. "We have been sensitizing the tourism trade and travellers on the need for conserving Kerala’s natural wealth and will strengthen our efforts in that direction,” she said.
This is the second award for Kerala Tourism's World Tourism Day print campaign within a week. Earlier, the print ad won the Gold Award at the Madras Ad Club Awards, popularly known as Maddys. In March this year, Kerala Tourism's print campaign on Ayurveda developed by Stark also won the coveted Das Golden Stadtor Award at the Berlin ITB Golden City Gate Awards, which is considered the Oscars of the tourism industry.
