TTT NEWS NETWORK
KOLKATA, 6 OCTOBER 2023:
Kerala Tourism was today presented with the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award in the ‘Marketing Campaign(State&city- Global)’ category, marking a sterling endorsement of the state’s sustained efforts todeviseinnovative initiatives to attract visitors.
Kerala Tourism Additional Director (General), Mr. S Prem Krishnan received the honour from PATA Chairman Mr Peter Semone at the PATA Travel Mart 2023, held at the International Exhibition Convention Centre (IECC), Pragati Maidan in NewDelhi on Thursday.
Set up in 1984, the PATA Grand and Gold Awards recognise the finest contributions fromthetravel industry in the Asia- Pacific region with the winning projects consistentlycreatingbenchmarks for excellence and creativity.
Kerala Tourism’s award-winning campaign ‘Make up for lost time, pack up for Kerala’, conceptualized for an audience transitioning to normalcy during the post-COVIDtimes, targeted domestic tourists. The campaign made a splash in all major media platforms, including print, radio, OOH, digital videos and banners (web portals), and social media channels.
Kerala Tourism Minister, Mr. P A Mohamed Riyas said the prestigious PATA Gold Award comes as a high honour for Kerala Tourism, which has been making constant efforts tocome up with catchy and facts-based marketing campaigns to woo back tourists in post-pandemictimes.
“This well-planned market outreach has imparted a big thrust to the post-pandemic upsurgein domestic tourist arrivals in Kerala. Our campaign idea, ‘Make up for lost time, pack up for Kerala’, was simple and direct, yet quite innovative, eloquently conveying the sentimentsofpeople during the transition to normalcy. It exhorted everyone to regain their funandfreedom in one of India’s best-known destinations,” Mr. Riyas added.
Tourism Secretary , Mr. K Biju said the award is a sterling recognition of Kerala Tourism’sinnovative campaign which proved to be a key factor in the massive surge indomestictourist footfalls.
Tourism Director, Mr. P B Nooh said it is significant this international honour affirmed the brilliance of our marketing campaigns at a time when Kerala Tourismis all set toscalenewheights as prime destination for both domestic tourists and holiday-makers fromall keymarkets around the world.
The state’s innovative campaign, ‘Make up for lost time, pack up for Kerala’, hadsignalledamajor shift by targeting the young crowd, exhorting them to savour the beauty of Keralainanatural setting, be it adventure or leisure. This was evident in a range of captivating videos on social media handles which included a young couple indulging in adventure activities, a girl draped in a Kerala sari careening through a village road on a skateboard, agroupofyoung backpackers enjoying tea at a roadside stall, and a family enjoying the serenity of the hills.
Significantly, other winners of PATA awards this year include promoters of global destinations like the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Incheon Tourism Organization, Jeju Tourism Organization, Korea Tourism Organization, Nepal Tourism Board, SabahTourism Board, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Tourism Fiji.
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