Kerala Tourism has taken the top prize at the world’s largest tourism trade show held in Germany, winning the ITB-Berlin’s Golden City Gate gold award, dubbed the ‘Oscar of Tourism Communications’.
This is the second major international award for Kerala Tourism in the last two months.
Kerala Tourism won the Golden City Gate top award, the gold prize, of the ITB-Berlin for its print campaign on the backwaters, beating tough competition from major national tourism boards in the world.
Presented every year at the prestigious ITB-Berlin fair, the Das Golden Stattdor or the Golden City Gate Awards are considered the ultimate recognition in global tourism communication. The awards are held under the patronage of the German Federal Association of Film and Audio-Visual Producers. This year’s ITB-Berlin began on March 5 in the German capital city. It is the first time that Kerala Tourism has won the gold in the print category. Malaysia Tourism had won the gold in the print category last year.
Kerala Tourism's print campaign this year on the backwaters presents the state’s famous water bodies as a fascinating water world, in the big league of the Great Wall of China and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
This is the third honour in as many months for Kerala Tourism at the international and national level. In January, Kerala Tourism had won the United Nations World Trade Organization (UNWTO) Ulysses Prize, the first for India, for excellence and innovation in tourism. Last month, it had dominated the National Tourism Awards for 2012-13, winning four top prizes.
"We are truly honoured by this remarkable recognition from the world's biggest travel trade show," said Kerala Tourism Minister Shri A P Anilkumar.
"The top award at Berlin demonstrates the significant place of Kerala's beautiful backwaters among the most important destinations in the world," Shri Anilkumar said. "This is a recognition for the Kerala brand," he added.
The print campaign of Kerala Tourism, titled 'The Great Backwaters', was launched late last year. The campaign presented the backwaters of Kerala, stretching from one end of the state to the other, as a single destination and a once-in-lifetime experience for the traveller. The National Geographic Traveler rated Kerala's backwaters 60th among 133 great destinations around the globe.
"It is a huge achievement for Kerala and a major boost to the state's reputation as one of the top tourism destinations in the world," said Kerala Tourism Secretary Shri Suman Billa, who received the award at the ITB-Berlin awards ceremony held on March 6. "The award shows the important place of our backwaters on the global tourism map," he added.
Kerala Tourism Director Shri S Harikishore hailed the award as an endorsement of the continuing efforts of the tourism department in showcasing the vast tourism potential of the state. "It is our objective to present our distinguished visitors with the best in the world in terms of variety, originality and creativity," he added.
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