Kerala Tourism, which is seeking a recovery path from COVID-19 that has taken a toll on the sector, is to use the official website and niche products for an aggressive campaign to promote the destination to increase footfall.
The aim is to retain its edge in the post COVID-19 era for the official website keralatourism.org that has been ranked first in search results since 2004. Visitors to the website, which had crossed one crore annually, are in the range of 2.5 to 3 lakh at present.
The ₹6.70-crore campaign to reboot the tourism economy using the website comes at a time when other tourism brands within the country and abroad have started virtual marketing of the destination.
In the six-month Virtual Tour Campaign 2021, estimated to cost ₹3.38 crore, selected tourist destinations across the State will be posted on the website every month and viewers will be asked to select their favourite destination.
The destination that secures most votes in online voting will be featured on the website. High-definition videos and 360 panoramic videos will be used for destination promotion.
The ‘click campaign’ is to be used to enhance traffic to the website from the country and abroad by 15 lakh and thereby increase footfall in 2021-2022.
Kerala cuisine is also being exploited in the digital platform for the first time to overcome the impact of the pandemic. One hundred Kerala dishes will be featured on the website for viewers to see how the dishes are prepared. Non-Keralite viewers will have to prepare dishes of their choice at their home and post the videos.
A committee will hand-pick 10 videos and winners and their families will be brought to the State on a fully paid trip for seven days. Their visit will be featured on the website.
Tourism authorities hope to increase web traffic by 30 to 40 lakh by the ₹3.32-crore project aimed at foodies. Those who join for the contest will become ambassadors of Kerala and cuisine. A microsite is to be created on the official website along with 100 videos on cuisine and e-brochure on cuisine.
Sources said the Working Group on Tourism had cleared the projects and administrative sanction had been given for the campaign.
