ICTT – an innovative initiative by ATTOI: Rani George
“I did expect a much bigger turnout for such an innovative event like ICTT. I expect more tourism professionals and entrepreneurs will turn out in the coming sessions,” she said. The Secretary has congratulated ATTOI for the selection of topics for the third edition of ICTT and also said the topics are good for the trade partners as it will help them enhance their businesses.
“We have framed a tourism policy, where we are planning to double the international tourist arrivals to Kerala. And to achieve that number, quality, markets and strategies are very important. One of the major elements in the strategies is digital marketing. We are working on different strategies to enhance tourist arrivals.In February, Kerala Tourism has launched ‘Human by Nature’ video campaign, which has reached some 40 million people already. This achievement was possible, thanks to social media,” she said pointing the benefits of digital marketing and the strengths of social media.
“Facebook page of Kerala Tourism has hit a new high, emerging as the most followed tourism page in South Asia and also overtaking Tourism Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand by a fair margin. The number of ‘likes’ on Kerala Tourism’s Facebook page has tripled in the past two years, touching a figure of 3,481,239. Internationally, now only three countries—Australia with 8.3 million, Go USA with 6.7 million Visit Dubai with 6.7 likes—are ahead of Kerala. One of the contributory factors to the impressive growth on social media platform is a sound content strategy based on engagement data analysis. It has helped us to fine-tune our content for better reach and create specific content for audiences with specific interests,” she observed.
Besides generating appealing content, efforts were made for posting vernacular updates in seven Indian languages to cater to the domestic audience, said Rani George. “Social media has helped us transcend geographies and connect with all segments of the population,” she added.
The third edition of ICTT aims at helping the players of tourism industry to stay abreast with the latest technology through effective usage of digital and social media platforms. Around 10 subject experts across the globe will offer their insights on 10 different topics related to online promotion of the business.
The two-day long event will be concluded on September 27, on the World Tourism Day. Around 500 delegates including tour operators, hoteliers, resort owners, homestays, SEO (search engine optimization) companies, software firms, social media marketing companies and bloggers, are expected to attend the conference at Le Meridian hotel, Kochi.
The topics include: Impact of influential marketing in tourism by Ellie Shedden, Australia; Artificial intelligence and travel revolution by Losch, Italy; Secrets of search Engine Rankings by David Carollo, Singapore; How to do social media tourism promotion to get Chinese tourists? by Richard Matuzevich, China; Tips to become a good digital photographer? by Shane Dallas, Kenya; How to create a good story about your brand? by Jen Morilla, USA; How innovation in travel and tourism is driving economic and jobs growth by Brian Marrinan, Ireland; How to create an attention grabbing content/blog? by Heather Heuman, USA; How to use YouTube for destination promotion by Jessica Dante, UK; Program tips for improving E-A-T SEO by Sean Patrick Si, Philippines and Instagram and growth strategies by Isabel Mosk, Netherland.