Kerala Tourism tells the story of human relationships transcending barriers

New Delhi, Nov 13: It was a windfall for 40-year-old driver Shahjahan, but how Lady Luck came to smile upon him is a human interest story forming the basic thread of a new promotion blitz being launched by Kerala Tourism.

Shajahan was the driver of a taxi hired by a couple from Holland, Marit Struitnburg and her husband, during their month-long stay in Kerala. Impressed by his helpful nature, impeccable manners and commitment to work, they gifted him an air-conditioned cab worth Rs 5.5 lakh at the end of their tour.

This is one of a few real life stories that Kerala Tourism is highlighting in its new advertisement campaign to highlight the fact that Kerala is not just a land of lakes, backwaters, beaches and natural beauty but about human relationships transcending barriers, Tourism Director D Suman told UNI here yesterday.

More romantic is the story of a young couple - John and Nicola- who came to Bolghatty island resort all the way from Britain and solemnised their marriage in traditional Kerala "Pudavakoda" (in which the bride is given cloth by the bridegroom) style.

Notwithstanding the cost involved, they brought a huge contingent of nearly 100 guests from America, South Africa, New Zealand and the United Kingdom for the wedding ceremony. Bolghatty in Kochi was the couple's natural choice for the momentous event in their life because it had won their hearts during a previous visit.

The couple told Kerala tourism that they wanted to get married in "the most beautiful place on the earth." Corrine Mathieu from France had a different experience when she fell madly in love with Kerala's dance form "Mohiniyattam" during one of her visits. Now she is a regular visitor to the state, once in three months, to enrich her talent. She is also teaching Mohiniyattam in a French University.

Mr Suman said Kerala Tourism has got written agreements from all three for using their real-life stories for the ad campaign.

Buoyed by the all-time record arrival of foreign tourists this year, the Kerala Tourism is deviating from its generic campaign to a new path-breaking advertisement strategy highlighting the rich and diverse human element which enhances one's visit to "God's Own Country," he added.

The entire campaign material of Kerala Tourism had so far been loaded with its scenic beauty, backwaters and mesmerising hill stations.

In a major break, the new campaign, being launched next week, focuses on "people," he said.

"Our new effort is to highlight that Kerala is not all about nature, but also more importantly about its people," Mr Suman said. "We want to tell prospective tourists to Kerala how the human element enriches their visit to the state," he added. Mr Suman said the Kerala Tourism was also shifting to responsible tourism so that tourism efforts are ecologically sensitive and capable of generating income to the local people.

In fact, Kerala would focus on promoting "boundary-less tourism" in a bid to encourage tourists to mingle freely with the host community.

What prompted Kerala to come out with a new ad campaign is the encouraging figures with regard to the arrival of foreign tourists which is expected to surpass all the previous records this year, he said.

Even as India as a whole registered a growth of nearly 12 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals in the first eight months of the current year, Kerala has been independently way ahead with an impressive growth of 30.14 per cent till August.

The highest ever of 25 per cent for India was recorded in 2004.

The previous highest growth for Kerala was not more than 15 per cent.

''The 30.14 growth is the highest figure ever recorded by Kerala tourism ever since the state was systematically promoted as 'God's Own Country' nearly 15 years ago," Mr Suman said.

In this context, he pointed out that the tourists arriving in the state are for leisure and not business. But in the case of other states, a number of foreign business visitors are also added to the leisure tourists.

"This makes the achievement of Kerala all the more coveted," he claimed.

Reeling out figures, he said the unprecedented growth in foreign tourist flow this year was partly due to the increased arrival during the monsoon months of June, July and August which used to be a lean season for all activities, including tourism.

The huge response to the monsoon tourism campaign has automatically elevated Kerala to the status of a 365-day-a-year destination.

UNI