KOLKATA: The tourism department of Kerala government is planning to launch a campaign focused on ayurveda to promote tourism and position the state of Kerala as home of ayurveda.

The board is also looking at a year-long campaign – ‘Visit Kerala Year’ to celebrate tourism in the state and it would commence from mid-April, coinciding with the New Year in the Malayalam calendar.

Kerala Tourism spent around Rs 45 crore on the marketing and campaigns to promote tourism activities in the state in the current fiscal that id 2014-15. For the next fiscal, that is 2015-16, the budget would be in the same line if not more, as the state is betting on tourism growth.

“We will sooner have TVCs and campaigns focused on ayurveda to promote tourism,” said Kerala tourism, additional director (general) Anupama TV, in Kolkata, on the sidelines of an event organized to promote the state as a favourite destination on Monday.

Leveraging the increased air connectivity, a focused ayurveda and monsoon campaign will be conducted in the Middle East where 90 per cent of the diaspora is from the state.

The other campaigns including TVCs focusing on the backwaters, beaches were aired last year, said Anupama TV.

Tourism is Kerala’s second biggest income source, after remittances from non-resident Keralites abroad. The state earned Rs 23,000 crore from tourism in 2013.

Kerala is looking at increasing the number of tourist arrivals in the state to over 1.37 crore in 2015 as it plans an array of activities to promote the state as perfect holiday destination.

Also, to promote the number of foreign arrivals, the tourism department is taking a number of initiatives and is exploring new markets such as China, Japan and Korea apart from campaigns in Europe.

When asked about Kerala Tourism’s most ambitious sea plane project, she said that sea plane services will commence soon.

Kerala Tourism had to stop the sea plane services, after its inaugural flight in Kollam in early 2013 owing to widespread protests from fishermen in the state.