Tourism News

Tourism 'Oscar' for 'God's Own Country'

Published in Newsletter Issue No. 259 - March 2015

Kerala Tourism's global multimedia campaign to promote the backwaters has won the prestigious Golden Gate Award at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) - 2015, the world's leading travel trade event.

Kerala Tourism bagged the silver prize at the Das Golden Stadttor (Golden Gate) Awards presented in the German capital. Mr. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, Secretary, Kerala Tourism who lead the state tourism delegation at the ITB 2015, and Mr. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Union Tourism Ministry and former Secretary, Kerala Tourism received the prize at a glittering awards ceremony.

Kerala Tourism received the Golden Gate Award's Silver Prize in the Mulimedia-campaign category. The award was presented for the Great Backwaters global campaign in the television-commercial medium. The campaign was conceptualised by Kerala Tourism's creative and marketing agency Stark Communications.

The Great Backwaters campaign of Kerala Tourism was notable for its use of aerial photography for the first time in the country on such a wide scale, covering the state's backwaters as a single destination.

“We are honoured by the remarkable recognition for the Great Backwaters Campaign at the world’s biggest travel trade event. The award shows the significance of our state on the world tourism map," said Mr. A.P. Anilkumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala.

"The honour in Berlin will inspire us to promote our state further across the world. Our efforts are aimed at promoting Kerala in the most creative and effective way to a larger global audience," Mr.  Anilkumar added.

“We are highly confident that during 'Visit Kerala 2015', we will be accomplishing many more awards in various other categories,” said Mr. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, Secretary, Kerala Tourism.

Presented every year at the ITB-Berlin, Golden Gate Awards, dubbed the 'Oscar in tourism communication', are considered the ultimate recognition in global tourism communication. The awards, in its 14th year, provide worldwide attention to the tourism industry.