Kerala Tourism has tied up with gaming company Zapak ( www.zapak.com ) to launch an interactive online game to sell the State’s tourism destinations to gamers from around the world.The game will feature a hand-drawn map of Kerala with a trail and markings for the important tourist attractions in God’s Own Country.

The gamer can use various modes of transport to travel - a rented car, tourist bus, rented bike or traditional boat.

Once the gamer reaches a location, there is a ‘treasure’ to discover - God’s Own Treasure.

The treasures are hidden in a temple or church, a historic monument, beach or a national park.

A photography mode allows the gamer to click away to a destination. Good photographs will earn more points. “Kerala Tourism has always tried to innovate and engage the latest tools of marketing to promote its products and destinations,” says Mr T.K. Manoj Kumar, Tourism Secretary.

“Our gaming initiative is going to be another first in that it seeks to tap the GenNext and draws them to explore new tourist spots. Besides being an exciting game, learning about new places and cultures will be a value-addition for them,” he added.

In February, Kerala Tourism had launched two new technology-driven schemes (Bring Home a Friend and Audio Guide) to market its tourism destinations.

Other initiatives

Under ‘Bring Home a Friend,’ which was targeted at the Keralite diaspora, non-residents could invite friends from their places of residence and earn free holiday back home for themselves.

The ‘Audio Guide’ initiative, the first by a State in India, allowed a visitor to receive audio tours of the State’s tourist destinations on their mobile phones by dialling a dedicated number. According to Mr Rani George, Director, Kerala Tourism, the new interactive online game is a novel tool by which one can explore the State by following the trail through different levels.

“Apart from the excitements as a game, it also adds a real-time element by giving a Google Maps location link and information on how to get to a destination.”

With currently over 7.5 million registered gamers, Zapak addresses the complete value chain of digital gaming and is amongst the top gaming sites in the world. It owns a chain of dedicated gaming cafes in the country - Zapak GamePlex. These are high-speed gaming cafes that offer world-class gaming content. There are over 100 cafes in more than 40 cities in India.

Zapak Games, the licensing and merchandising arm, has created one of India’s largest retail distribution networks with a presence in over 5,000 retail outlets across 135 cities.

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