Kerala, with its scenic beauty and efficient healthcare, had won global appreciation many a time, Kerala bagging the UN award for the non-communicable diseases being the recent one. This Thursday, 24th September 2020, we had yet another glorious moment after bagging the prestigious PATA Grand Award 2020. The Pacific Asia Travel Association Grand Award aka PATA this year was powered by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). Kerala’s ‘Human by Nature’ program bagged one of the three PATA Grand Awards.
This was the first time that PATA conducted the event virtually. The COVID-19 crisis led to the management giving away the 3 Grand Awards and 21 Gold Awards virtually. Tourism minister Kadakampilly Surendran, Tourism Secretary Rani George, Tourism Director P Bala Kiran represented Kerala during the virtual event. PATA chief executive officer Mario Hardy and Macao Government Tourism Office Director Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandez officially declared the titles.
Even amidst the extreme effects of Nipah virus, flood, and coronavirus, the Government ensured the protection of every sector that expected a potential influx. The tourism industry was among those industries in which the harm was severe. Human by nature was one of those brilliantly curated marketing strategies to revive the tourism industry whose curve was slowly declining.
As the name suggests ‘Human by Nature’ was an initiative to re-establish what it means to be humane especially during these times. Short films and documentaries were made involving real-life casts portraying real-life stories that exceeded the effectiveness of regular campaigns or ads. This extravagant depiction of our culture and daily life, aired in both national and international media, received heartfelt appreciation and support. The campaign helped Kerala achieve a growth rate of 17.2 percent in 2019.
PATA received an entry of 62 travel agencies and 121 individual institutions for the current year. The tourism minister stated that the human nature campaign has proved to be effective and would motivate us to overcome the ill effects of recurring disasters.
“The PATA grand award is a huge affirmation of the creative brilliance of our marketing campaigns and it shows that the human by nature campaign has struck the right note with global travellers. Our efforts are also geared towards putting in place SOPs for tourism stakeholders and be a responsible tourism destination, thereby giving the tourists confidence to visit the state” replied Tourism Secretary Rani George on being asked about her thoughts on the event. ( source: NEWS18)
As more and more tourism centers are finding an alternate source of income for survival, the government has efficiently managed and developed plans for reviving and supporting the industry. The state is presently curating package schemes that would attract more tourists. This global appreciation would indeed give the state fervent strength to continue with their innovative revival projects.
3 Responses
Bless read
It would have been interesting to know how the campaign shaped up creatively from the agency perspective as well!