Kerala Tourism to launch promo film in UK

NEW DELHI - Kerala Tourism will launch its latest global advertising campaign in London at the end of September with the world premiere of a new promotional movie showcasing natural splendour and tourism potential of the state.

The high-profile event will be attended by celebrities and the page three crowd in UK.

Conceived by Stark Communications, the Brand Agency of Kerala Tourism and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Prakash Varma of Vodafone Zoo Zoo ad fame, this new campaign aims to make Kerala a “must visit” destination for travellers around the world and experience its green wealth and quality hospitality.

Varma said he was proud to be involved in the campaign.

“Kerala is a superbrand and a highly-acclaimed destination and I wanted to be a part of the project straightway,” he said.

“This film is really going to have everyone talking about the destination. It is surreal and communicates the languid beauty, the rawness, and the sensual and spiritual flow of the land in a stirring and moving way,” he said.

Filmed with great sensitivity, the film is a departure from the usual product-specific campaigns associated with tourism boards. It targets the experiential traveller.

Following the premiere in London, the campaign will hit cinemas in the UK screening of “Eat, Pray, Love”. A runaway bestseller, the film starring Julia Roberts is based on the real life story of how an American divorcee and writer Liz Gilbert spent a year travelling in Italy, India and Bali in search of spiritual fulfilment.

The Kerala Tourism campaign will also roll out in other major markets in Europe, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. A focus area of the campaign will also be domestic tourists, a fast-growing segment for tourism in Kerala.

In 2009, Kerala Tourism had launched an innovative campaign by wrapping 120 taxis in the UK in attention-grabbing imagery of Kerala.

The campaign was a huge hit in the country, who account for a third of the 650,000 foreigners who visit the state every year.

Kerala’s growth in tourism has been phenomenal and dramatic. A decade ago, this small southern state, though awash with scenic grandeur, was virtually unknown in the international tourism scene. Today, it is a globally acclaimed tourist destination, voted as “One of the Ten Paradises in the World” by the National Geographic Traveller in 2000.