Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 10 (Representative) The third edition of Kerala Tourism’s international online painting competition for children has commenced. Children in the age group of 4-16 years from across the globe are eligible to participate in the competition themed ‘Kerala Village Life’. After registration, which is free, the participants can submit a maximum of five entries. The scanned images of the paintings can be uploaded in the website https://www.keralatourism.org/contest/icpc/ from April 1, 2023 till September 30, 2023. The competition, which received an overwhelming response in its previous seasons, is held in three categories – Children within Kerala, Children from other Indian states, and Children from abroad. Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas said this international competition will help children to know more about the major attractions of Kerala Tourism. “Kerala has received various global accolades for its activities initiated in rural areas under Responsible Tourism (RT). This painting competition which is themed – ‘Kerala Village Life’ will help in projecting the best aspects of Kerala Tourism among children”, he said. The competition offers a total of 101 attractive prizes. The first three winners from each category will be given special souvenirs besides the certificates. Ten winners from abroad will get a free five-day stay in Kerala and an opportunity to visit State’s top tourist destinations with two of their family members. Five winners from other Indian states category will get a chance for a five-day family trip to tourist destinations in Kerala.
Apart from mementos and certificates, three winners from the Kerala category will get booking coupons for a two-day stay at KTDC’s premium hotel, with two of their family members. For more details, visit: [email protected], Contact number: 91 70129 93589 This international competition, conducted online through Kerala Tourism’s website, will help shed light on the tourism department’s efforts in the rural sector. It has also found a place as a premier public engagement tool, among other attractive initiatives of Kerala Tourism, said KS Srinivas, Principal Secretary, Tourism. Through the website, the contestants and their families will be able to know more about Kerala Tourism. This international painting competition will also help foreign tourists explore the post-pandemic tourism potential of the State thus, we anticipate a spike in foreign tourists’ arrival, Tourism Director, PB Nooh noted. The promoters who ensure the maximum participation of children will also get prizes. Five promoters from abroad will get an opportunity for a five-day stay in Kerala. And promoters from other states will get a chance for a five-day visit to Kerala. Also, 70 consolation prizes will be given away to 20 children from abroad, 30 children from other Indian states, and 20 from within Kerala.The previous editions of international painting competition for children evoked a huge global response. 4169 children from 37 coun tries registered for the first edition held in 2014. For the second season held in 2018, the number of participants rose to 48,390 from 133 countries, and 9623 children were from abroad. Going forward, Kerala Tourism proposes to organise this online painting competition biennially.