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Sankar Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Feb. 17

THE State Tourism Department will shortly launch an integrated communication campaign intended to position the State as a MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) destination.

Disclosing this to Business Line, the Tourism Secretary, Mr T. Balakrishnan, said the State was already attracting a fair bit of MICE traffic. The campaign, to be launched in a couple of months, will help reinforce the State's attractiveness as a MICE destination, he added.

On the marketing front, the Tourism Department will continue with its aggressive strategy, Mr Balakrishnan said. However, the proposal to appoint a celebrity as a brand ambassador for the State has been put on hold for the moment, he said. Kerala Tourism will, however, continue to use occasional endorsements by celebrities as part of its promotional strategy, he added.

Meanwhile, Dubai has invited Kerala to be a partner State in next year's Shopping Festival, Mr Balakrishnan said. The Tourism Department is evaluating this invitation, he added.

An important aspect of the Tourism Department's strategy for this year is to create greater awareness about the State's potential for eco-tourism, he said. According to Mr Balakrishnan, the effort is to slowly bring all players in the tourism industry onto the eco-tourism platform. "We want all players in the tourism sector to have more concern for ecology and the environment," he added.

Simultaneously, the State's tourism authorities will play a crucial role in the `Clean Kerala Campaign', said Mr Balakrishnan. Through this long-term initiative, the authorities hope to focus on cleanliness and hygiene and create greater concern for the environment among the public, he explained.

Information kiosks and a toll-free number are part of the strategy for dissemination of information on Kerala, said Mr Balakrishnan. Private players are encouraged to publish guidebooks on Kerala, he added.

The State's tourism authorities are also reworking the format of the `Nishagandhi Dance Festival', organised in Thiruvananthapuram every year. The objective is to expand the scope of the festival by making it a cultural event with music, arts and cuisine in addition to dance, Mr Balakrishnan said.

Other events on this year's tourism calendar are the `Kerala Gold Festival' and the `National Boat Show'. The actual organisation of these festivals will be handed over to professional event managers, who will operate under the guidance of the Tourism Department, Mr Balakrishnan said.

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