Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Tourism has launched its revamped website, marking a vital step in bolstering the state’s efforts to meet the global competition in the tourism sector by leveraging cutting-edge technology to create a comprehensive digital guide providing information in more than 20 languages.
Launching the updated website, www.keralatourism.org, here, Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas said the user-friendly and interactive portal will showcase the immense possibilities of Kerala as a tourism destination, which will be available in a novel way at the fingertips of tourists from any part of the world.
“In the tourism sector, Kerala is competing with countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia. So, we have to give a facelift to our activities by leveraging the cutting-edge technology to showcase Kerala as a premium destination by providing all required information at the fingertips of tourists from any part of the world,” he said on Wednesday.
Riyas, the tourist-friendly web portal, will help visitors easily find certified hotels, homestays, Ayurveda, and wellness centres in Kerala.
The minister added that in 2023-24 alone, the website has marked around one crore visitors and more than two crore page views. The upgraded website, which is available in over 20 languages, is a comprehensive digital guide that features the state’s unique attractions, culture and heritage, and travel information.
Kerala Tourism Director Sikha Surendran and Kerala Tourism Additional Director (General) Vishnu Raj P were also present.
Modern web applications like ReactJS and Python Flask have been used in the refurbished website. This will offer a seamless web browsing experience for users on various gadgets like computers, tablets, and mobiles. A custom-built Content Management System (CMS) will manage content efficiently and deliver personalised user experiences.
The revamped website also provides easy navigation to tourism-related topics and improved multimedia playback for users.
Apart from newly added pages, the content has been created with SEO optimisation. Other highlights of the website are high-resolution pictures with attractive videos and packages with a new layout.
The interactive pages are equipped with riveting features like a travel planner, live webcast, video quiz, and e-newsletters. Through the user-generated content (UGC) facility on the web portal, travellers can share their stories from Kerala, photographs, and videos.
The other major features of the website include short video clips that give glimpses of Kerala, a video gallery with a collection of 360-degree videos and royalty-free videos, and a picture gallery from where pictures can be used by tourism stakeholders.
Dedicated sections like ‘Experience Kerala,’ ‘Where To Stay,’ and ‘Things To Do’ offer hassle-free services for tourists to plan their itinerary.
The user-centric website gives info within three simple clicks, and it brags of more than one lakh pages with high-resolution images and engaging videos.
Launched in 1998, www.keralatourism.org has played a major role in promoting the tourism initiatives of the Department of Tourism. The website has bagged numerous national and global honours, including the best among 10 tourism websites in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
The website of Kerala Tourism was last revamped in 2017.
