Kerala, the God's own country,  is the very famous tourist destination state situated in southwestern India. Its distinctive tradition and culture along with the diverse demography is the reason for Kerala being a major tourist destination. Kerala was not a known tourist destination before as majority of the tourism circuits were around the north side. Hard line marketing campaigns initiated by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, led to the growth of tourism in Kerala! At present, Kerala is considered as major tourist destination with maximum brand recall. Kerala is regarded as the fastest developing tourist destination in the whole world.

Kerala’s popular attractions include hill stations, beaches, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, etc. The region of “backwaters”- a broad network of joined lakes, rivers and canals at the centre of Punnamada, Alleppey and Kumarakom is also experience many tourists. Cities like Trivandrum and Kochi are famous places for theatrical performances and shopping.

The very first Kerala’s travel agency, Kerala Travels, was founded by Col. G.V Raja of the Travancore regal family. ‘Kerala Travels’ is now in 122 places in the country and 85 locations across the world. Kerala Travels was first to launch a tourism brochure and offer packages.

Beaches

Kovalam beach, near Trivandrum, was the first beach to attract tourists. Kovalam, being revived by back packers followed by groups of hippies, is the major tourist destination at present. Other famous beaches include Nattika beach, Alappuzha beach, Cherai beach, Marai beach, etc.

Backwaters

The backwaters are the sequence of brackish lagoons and lakes situated parallel to the coast of Arabian Sea, popularly known as the Malabar Coast. Backwaters are Kerala’s major tourist attraction. The backwaters were produced by the stroke of waves and coast currents generating barrier islands athwart the opening of several rivers flowing down from the range of Western Ghats.

Hill Stations

Hill stations include the region of gorges, High Mountain and deep cut valleys. The roughest lands are protected with dense forests and the other regions come under coffee or tea plantation or some other type of cultivation.

Festivals

Onam is the main festival of Kerala. Kerala has many religious festivals. Chettikulangara Bharani and Thrissur Poonam are the main temple festivals of Kerala. This takes place at Chettikulangara temple near Mavelikkara. The Sivarathi is also a major festival of Kerala and is usually celebrated at Padanilam Parabrahma temple.

Kerala tourism is known for its market focused and innovative ad campaigns. Several awards have been won by Kerala, including the Das Golden award for the best commercial, Best Tourism film, Golden award for marketing, etc by the tourism department.

Innovative designs and catchy slogans are regarded as a trade name of brand Kerala tourism. Promotions by celebrities are done to attract maximum tourists to Kerala. The website of Kerala tourism is immensely visited and has won several awards. Recently, Kerala’s tourism department has also started advertising through mobiles, by creating a WAP portal and distributing ringtones and wallpapers related to Kerala via the cell phone.

Article Posted By : tamil  On June 08, 2011lView All Articles

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/travel-guide-to-kerala---gods-own-country-article-62.htm

Keywords :
Kerala , Kovalam Beach , Kumarakom , Backwaters