Kerala Tourism is all set to launch a new global campaign to catapult the state’s majestic backwaters into the league of the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Voted ahead of the Taj Mahal in a National Geographic Traveller survey of top Indian tourism destinations, the backwaters of Kerala are to be unveiled as a self-contained experience in the new campaign shot using advanced aerial photography techniques.
A high-profile ad blitz in the national and international media as well as the social network are the highlights of the ‘Great Backwaters’ campaign that will have its inaugural run later this month. The Great Backwaters campaign features the first of its kind, high quality aerial photographs of the backwaters.
“The backwaters of Kerala are not about houseboats alone. It is about discovering a fascinating water world unlike any other on our planet,” Tourism Minister A P Anilkumar said.
The unique images of the backwaters were captured for the domestic and international campaign by advanced cameras secured in a highly sophisticated and custom designed eight-rotor helicam. The aerial shoot was controlled from a customised boat equipped with a miniature helipad to facilitate the take off and landing of the helicam. The print campaign will start appearing in international and national magazines by the beginning of November.
Tourism Secretary Suman Billa said: “Here in our backwaters, the primordial relationship between mankind and water comes alive like nowhere else. Whether it is the canal networks, floating markets, houseboats, snake boat races or a whole way of life that thrives around water, this is a miracle of nature that will captivate the world.” Tourism Director S Harikishore said that the backwaters deserve a special campaign to showcase their vast potential as a leading international attraction. “We felt that an innovative perspective like this is definitely needed to draw the attention of the evolved international traveller to this ‘waterworld’,” he said.
The 25-member crew which shot across the backwaters was led by aerial photographer Ville M J Hyvnen from Finland and Shelton Pinheiro, Creative director, Stark Communications.