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God’s Own Country has successfully gained the attention of international travellers with its online contest, ‘Come to Kerala’. The contest was created to promote Kerala as a must-see holiday destination around the world, especially among people from the 12 countries that were a part of the Visa-on-Arrival project initially.
The tourist Visa-on-Arrival status was introduced in 2013 for 12 countries, which include Finland, Japan, Luxemburg, Singapore, New Zealand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Republic of Korea and Indonesia.
'Come to Kerala', designed to capture the imagination of socially active people living in these countries became an instant hit on the virtue of the reward it offered, an all-expense-paid trip to Kerala.
The selection of the winners was based on the votes received through various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus as well as the reach and influence of each participant in the online sphere.
From innumerable entries, 9 winners from Finland, Indonesia, Laos, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Philippines were selected. The winners included eminent bloggers, photographers, chefs and travel buffs.
The promotion of ‘Come to Kerala’ contest through blogs, online forums, Facebook, Twitter and Google has expanded the reach of Kerala Tourism in Visa-on-Arrival countries. The frequent posts and tweets of the winners on the spectacular sights and exotic cuisines of Kerala have made Kerala a talking point among travel enthusiasts.
At a time when India opens Visa-on-Arrival facility to 43 more countries through Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), these posts have helped increase the impact of Kerala Tourism in not just the countries of the winners of ‘Come to Kerala’ contest but throughout the globe as well.
