Soccer, movie & music stars to attend Kerala tourism movie premiere

LONDON/NEW DELHI - A galaxy of soccer stars including Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, former British soccer sensation Gary Linekar, Arsenal striker Theo Walcott and Tottenham Hotspur’s leading player Jermain Defoe, will attend the world premiere of a promotional new film, “Your Moment is Waiting” showcasing the tourism potential of Kerala at the Saatchi Gallery in London Sep 21.

The film aims to promote the state as one of the top global destinations.

This is the first time an Indian tourism board is premiering a promotional capsule at a glamour event outside the country.

The premiere will be attended by celebrities from cinema and music industry, apart from sports.

Star of “Love Actually” Bill Nighy and Dev Patel of “Slumdog Millionaire” will walk the red carpet along with former Oasis member Liam Gallagher and Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon.

The ad film “Your Moment is Waiting” has been directed by Prakash Varma of the Vodaphone ZooZoo fame and conceived by Kerala Tourism’s brand agency Stark Communications.

Kerala Tourism Secretary V. Venu said the campaign was unlike any other tourism campaign before.

“The film is stylish, sophisticated and highly emotive. It is not the traditional slide-show of pretty pictures of places and people. The campaign will help Kerala outperform many of its competitors in a very tough global market place,” Venu said.

He said the state was reaching out to the “global target audience of experience seekers”.

“The film will resonate and influence how they think about Kerala as a holiday destination,” he said.

The state tourism board decided to host the premiere of the movie in the UK because “it wanted to tap the potential of the British markets and its adjoining countries that were fast emerging as high-end niche markets”.

“Besides being our main source market, Kerala attracts a lot of repeat travellers from the UK, and we felt that it would make great sense to reach out to this loyal and growing market, by premiering the film in London,” Venu added.

The state’s nature-based experiences are a huge draw for British travellers seeking more intimate, village tourism experiences.

“Baby boomers who are getting more interested in their health are also attracted to ayurveda in Kerala,” he said.

“The campaign would run in all of Kerala Tourism’s major markets around the world from October 2010 until mid-2011. The movie “Your Moment is Waiting” will also feature on You Tube in the UK, France and Germany targeting nearly 50 million viewers.

“The campaign will run in cinemas across the UK where the movie ‘Eat, Pray and Love’ starring Julia Roberts is being screened and on CNN, Europe targeting viewers in the key source markets of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium,” Venu said.

Director of the movie Prakash Varma said: “Kerala Tourism is a super brand in India and is continually reinventing itself with innovative ideas and ambitious projects.”

“With this global launch in London, it has once again raised the bar by being the first destination board to launch its campaign offshore,” he said.