ETW STAFF – Mumbai
Kerala Tourism’s total revenue, both direct and indirect, touched the INR 21,125 crore mark in 2012 compared to INR19,037 crore in 2011. Kerala witnessed 7.94 lakh foreign tourists arrival in 2012 as compared to 7.33 lakh in 2011. Compared to 93.88 lakh domestic tourists in 2011, 1.01 crore domestic tourists visited Kerala in 2012. Foreign exchange earnings also went up from INR 4,221.99 crore in 2011 to INR 4,548 crore in 2012.
Harnessing the powers of the digital revolution, Kerala has projected itself very well onto the social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. The synergy developed between tour operators, property owners, travel agencies and search engines like Google and connectivity solutions like Wi-Fi and mobile internet have resulted in a massive upsurge in foreign interest in Kerala through the world of internet. Every search in Google related to Kerala or tourism in Kerala displays links related to the Kerala tourism website and advertisements of the same.
Successful partnership meets were conducted at Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Gurgaon, Bhopal, Surat, Rajkot, Nashik and Pune. This year, Kerala Tourism proposes to conduct such meets in the metropolitan cities as well, like Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.
