Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala Tourism has launched an online campaign to bring the world's best bloggers to the state for an on-the-road experience.
The 'Kerala Blog Express' will be a two-week-long road journey from the south to the north of the state on a branded luxury bus for which 25 bloggers from around the world will be selected for the road journey in an online voting on a website (www.keralablogexpress.com) created by Kerala Tourism.
The website, launched recently, has already received over 100,000 visits, with some top travel bloggers from India and abroad entering the race for the final selection.
The bus journey will begin on March 1, a Kerala Tourism release said in Thiruvananthapuram today.
Travel writers, photographers and bloggers who already have their own blogs are eligible to enter the selection. The registration for 'Kerala Blog Express' journey ended on January 10.
Profiles of participants are available on Kerala Blog Express website for voting by the general public.
The followers of the participants on social media like Twitter and Facebook are also eligible to vote.
The online voting will be completed on Jan 15 and bloggers with the highest votes will earn seats on Kerala Blog Express, following a final review by a judging panel of the tourism department.
"This is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country to attract the blogger community for a first-hand experience of our land, its geography and culture," said Kerala Tourism Minister A P Anilkumar.
Entries had been received from as many as 80 countries, including US, UK, Poland, Spain, Germany, Canada and Indonesia.
Some of world's best-known travel bloggers like Venezuela-born Marcello Arrambide, whose Wandering Trader is one of the most popular travels blogs on the internet and Romanian Cezar Dumitru whose extensive travel experiences have been recorded on his Imperator Travel website are taking part.
Many writers participating in the race for the 25 seats on the Kerala Blog Express have featured in National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveller and Lonely Planet.
Kerala Blog Express will travel through destinations like Alappuzha, Kovalam, Varkala, Kumarakom, Thekkady, Munnar, Wayanad, Kochi and Bekal during the two-week journey.
The selected bloggers will also be able to participate in activities like boating in the backwaters, experience Ayurvedic treatment, and watch Kathakali performances, besides giving bath to the state's famous captive elephants.