Tourism News
Kerala Blog Express is on its way
Twenty-five top travel bloggers from a dozen countries have been selected through an online contest to take part in the '‘Kerala Blog Express'. The 'Kerala Blog Express', a luxury bus carrying the winners of the competition was flagged off from Thiruvananthapuram by Mr. A.P. Anilkumar, Minister for Tourism on March 10. The bus will cover tourist destinations up to Kasaragod District of Kerala, enabling the bloggers to share their travel experiences in their respective blogs.
Participants of 'Kerala Blog Express' were chosen from 600 contestants from 80 countries, including the United States, India, Brazil, the Philippines, Germany, Spain, Indonesia, Denmark, Mexico, Poland, Italy, and Portugal. Many of the bloggers such as Inma Gregorio from Spain, Nelson Carvalheiro from Germany, Oscar Augusto from Brazil and Gael Hilton from Philippines enjoy worldwide following and have been featured on both national and international travel magazines.
"It is one of the biggest tourism promotions to be undertaken by the State with the help of social media. It will also help in boosting tourist arrivals to Kerala," said Mr. A. P. Anilkumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala.
"The winners have been selected after evaluating their blogs and the comments on them. Social media is changing the way people take travel decisions. It has a tremendous influence on the tourism sector. Kerala is looking forward to leverage social media and promote its tourism globally in the next six months," said Mr. Suman Billa, Secretary, Kerala Tourism.
From Thiruvananthapuram, the luxury bus, arranged specially for the 'Kerala Blog Express' campaign will first take the participants from Thiruvananthapuram to the beach destinations of Kovalam and Varkala. The bus will then move to the backwater spots in Alappuzha and Kumarakom, where the bloggers are expected to get a first-hand experience of village life. They will also visit Kerala Kalamandalam for getting familiar with the classical art forms of Kerala. Other destinations in their travel itinerary are Thekkady, Bekal Fort, Fort Kochi, and Mattancherry. The bloggers will also get an experience of Ayurveda - the traditional healthcare system of Kerala.
For winners list click here: http://keralablogexpress.com/
