DRThiruvananthapuram: The fifth edition of Kerala Blog Express was flagged off by Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, from Mascot Hotel. The annual blogger outreach campaign, which holds aloft the ‘Trip of a Lifetime’ tag, has brought bloggers across the globe to travel the length and breadth of God’s Own Country. A total of 30 bloggers from countries such as France, the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Venezuela and Peru have embarked on a two-week-long journey across the state for the fifth edition of the campaign.
In the course of their journey, they will also be documenting their experiences in Kerala for travellers who look forward to visiting the state. The campaign will culminate in Kochi on April 1. Places including Alappuzha, Kumarakom, Thrissur, Munnar, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod will be covered as part of the campaign. Photos, videos and articles will be uploaded by the bloggers and shared among their followers all over the world.
Flagging off the Kerala Blog Express, Kadakampally Surendran said: “Kerala is the only State in the world that has combined social media campaign, familiarisation trip and bloggers meet under one grand event. Thirty bloggers selected from 28 countries will capture the beauty of Kerala and share their experiences with their followers on social media. Kerala Blog express has been a regular affair for the past four years.”
“Around 400 blogs were generated from last year’s edition alone. We can see the results in terms of the increase in tourist arrival to the state in the past one year,” he added. Delivering the welcome speech, Rani George IAS, Secretary, Tourism, said, “Kerala tourism has been on the tourism world map for quite some time now and has received numerous awards and recognition for its innovative campaigns. Apart from the beaches and backwaters, I hope the bloggers will get to experience the heritage and culture of the State in its full authenticity.”
Proposing the vote of thanks, P Bala Kiran IAS, Director, Kerala Tourism, said: “Kerala Tourism’s efforts to explore new marketing avenues have given birth to blog express.” He also urged the bloggers to give importance to the interactions with the locals which would add more colour to their experience in Kerala as a whole. Over 100 brand ambassadors have collectively participated in the previous editions of Kerala Blog Express, all of whom have shared their mesmerising ‘Trip of a Lifetime’ experience through blogs.
Kerala Tourism had received a slew of entries after the registrations were thrown open for the fifth edition. The unique campaign had garnered over 5000 entries over the last five years, with 1727 entries being received this year alone. Jafar Malik, Additional Director, Kerala Tourism, was present at the event. E M Najeeb, President, Confederation of Tour Operators; Baby Mathew, President, Kerala Travel Mart, and P K Aneesh Kumar, President, Association of Tourism and Trade Organisations India also spoke on the occasion.
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