Kerala Tourism got four of the top honours at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Awards 2011 announced in Bangkok for outstanding achievement. Kerala is the only Indian state to figure in the PATA awards this year, and also picked up one of the four PATA Grand awards in the environment category for its "responsible tourism" efforts in Kumarakom. Kerala Tourism's new global campaign film "Your Moment is Waiting" bagged three PATA Gold awards, signify the creative edge, which our marketing campaigns have been acclaimed for. Kerala Tourism's international campaign, Your Moment Is Waiting is a film that goes far beyond the realm of a commercial, to capture the soul of Kerala like no destination hitherto has. Kerala Tourism won three Gold awards making it the largest haul ever by a state government in the history of the PATA awards.
This video shot at Thekkady, Munnar, Thalassery and Kannur in 11 days, this video is directed by Prakash Varma and is produced by Stark Communications.
Your Moment is Waiting
Kerala Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said: "The Grand award puts an even greater responsibility on us to ensure that the achievements of responsible tourism in Kumarakom are sustained and taken to the next level to create a replicable model in tourism practices.
The "responsible tourism" program was the first such initiative by a tourism board in India. As the best way to maximize the positive impacts of tourism and minimize the negative ones, Responsible Tourism is gaining wide acceptance across the world today. Under the project, ordinary people of Kumarakom worked with industry representatives like hotels and resorts, tour operators, travel agents, home-stay operators and souvenir shop owners, NGOs and government agencies to protect the environment in the high-profile destination. Kumarakom, in the State, has the pride of being the first place on the country to have successfully implemented "responsible tourism". "Responsible tourism" is today being implemented in other tourist destinations across the State.