The second edition of Kerala Blog Express, carrying 30 leading travel bloggers from 21 countries, was on tour in Kollam on Thursday.
They arrived in the city late on Wednesday on a luxury bus after exploring Thiruvananthapuram for two days.
The programme, organised by Kerala Tourism with an aim to promote Kerala’s tourism potential globally, will have the bloggers on a two-week road trip across the State. At the initiative of Ports Director P.I. Shiekh Pareeth, the bloggers began their experience of Kollam from the sea port. They were taken on an hour-long sea cruise off the port. They then visited the colonial enclave of Tangasseri and even climbed the Tangasseri lighthouse built by the British.
Arnaldo Santiago Rivera from the United States said that he had heard of Kerala as a place of relaxation, folklore, traditions, landscapes, and ecological activities “that will make me connect with nature like I never imagined.” Adriana Valerieva from Bulgaria said her information was that Kerala was a place full of traditions, landscapes, folklore, and outdoor activities. “I have no words to explain how excited I am,” she said.
The bloggers were selected through a global online campaign with voting facility for the public. They have already started writing about Kerala on their blogs. All of them have a huge number of followers across the world and the Kerala Tourism expects their blogs to lure more people to the State.
A majority on the Blog Express are from Europe. There is one each from Africa and South America. Preeti Hoon and Deepti Astahana represent India on the bus.
