THRISSUR: The 30 tourist bloggers from across the globe taking part in the outreach campaign of the state tourism department named 'Kerala Blog Express' were all in praise of the tourist facilities in the state and native cuisine. For more than half of these bloggers, who write extensively on social platforms like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram among others, it was their first visit to Kerala. They expressed the view that the state blessed with the abundant natural beauty has far more tourist potential to be tapped.
They were speaking at a meeting held in Thrissur with the officials of District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) and mediapersons here on Saturday. The bloggers were chosen from 1,727 entries through an online voting system which had nearly 60,000 voters. The bloggers are on a two-week-long trip visiting all the major tourist spots in the state. Blogger Gilsimara Caresia from Brazil said she had visited as many as 91 countries; still the backwaters at Kumarakom and the scenic beauty of Munnar were a unique experiences for her.
Andrei Osman (Abubu) from Sweden who writes on @abubusworld blog said that for tourists who wish explore the state by themselves at times were facing difficulty in finding proper information on tourist spots. "It will be helpful if the tourism department opens more information centers in places like airports and railway stations like in other countries," he added. Bo Saldana of Peru and Anna Sherchand of Australia said that India and Kerala in particular are far developed than what the foreign media reports.
