Kerala Tourism wins three 2004 PATA Gold Awards

Kerala Tourism has won three 2004 PATA Gold Awards for its Thenmala Ecotourism Project, East Fort Heritage Project and the Ayurveda promotional CD-ROM titled Niramaya. Kerala is the only State in India, which bagged three awards this year.

The award for East Fort acclaims the Government's efforts in implementing a comprehensive strategy for protecting the area of East Fort in the city of Thiruvananthapuram by declaring it as a Heritage Zone. With its forts, palaces, temples, walls and lanes, East Fort has an indisputable importance in the evolution of the State as well as the city of Thiruvananthapuram. The award for Thenmala lauds the State's initiatives in promoting ecotourism on the basis of sound principles of ecological sustainability in the surrounding areas of Thenmala. This is the first planned ecotourism project in India.

The congratulatory message to the Department of Tourism from PATA praised "the exceptional achievement in a variety of endeavours, bringing acclaim to the best the region's travel industry has to offer" and "the winning projects set industry standards for excellence and innovation, serving as examples for others to follow."

The awards will be presented on April 19, 2004 at the 53rd PATA Annual Conference in Jeju Island, Korea.

"The awards are a tribute to sustainable tourism, which Kerala has adopted," said Mr P. Sankaran, Minister for Tourism, Kerala.

PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) is the recognised authority on Pacific Asia travel and tourism. Established in 1951, PATA's mission is to enhance the growth, value and quality of travel and tourism.

"The awards reaffirm our commitment to implementing a long-term, well-though out marketing and communications strategy," said Mr T Balakrishnan, Secretary, Kerala Tourism. He also pointed out that Kerala Tourism has developed into a highly successful global brand that attracts tourists from all over the world. 

Kerala, last year, won the PATA Gold Awards for tourism marketing and for its CD-ROM 'Green Symphony'. And in 2002, the State bagged the Gold for its Fort Kochi Heritage Zone Project. 

Mr Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Director, Kerala Tourism, emphasised the role of the tourism-trade in achieving the awards. "The credit of this exceptional achievement goes to the trade, who in addition to creating innovative products and services, worked closely with the Government in marketing and promoting the destination," he said.