4/5 JROOT 5 years ago on Google
Kerala's
culture
and
traditions,
coupled
with
its
varied demographics,
have
made
the
state
one
of
the
most
popular
tourist
destinations
in
India.
In
2012, National
Geographic's Traveller magazine
named
Kerala
as
one
of
the
"ten
paradises
of
the
world"[471][472] and
"50
must
see
destinations
of
a
lifetime".[473]Travel
and
Leisure also
described
Kerala
as
"One
of
the
100
great
trips
for
the
21st
century".[471][474] In
2012,
it
overtook
the Taj
Mahal to
be
the
number
one
travel
destination
in
Google's
search
trends
for
India.[475]Kerala's
beaches,
backwaters,
lakes,
mountain
ranges,
waterfalls,
ancient
ports,
palaces,
religious
institutions[476] and
wildlife
sanctuaries
are
major
attractions
for
both
domestic
and
international
tourists.
The
city
of
Kochi
ranks
first
in
the
total
number
of
international
and
domestic
tourists
in
Kerala.[477][478] Until
the
early
1980s,
Kerala
was
a
relatively
unknown
destination
compared
to
other
states
in
the
country.[479] In
1986
the
government
of
Kerala
declared
tourism
an
important
industry
and
it
was
the
first
state
in
India
to
do
so.[480] Marketing
campaigns
launched
by
the Kerala
Tourism
Development
Corporation,
the
government
agency
that
oversees
the
tourism
prospects
of
the
state,
resulted
in
the
growth
of
the
tourism
industry.[481] Many
advertisements
branded
Kerala
with
the
tagline Kerala,
God's
Own
Country.[481] Kerala
tourism
is
a
global
brand
and
regarded
as
one
of
the
destinations
with
highest
recall.[481] In
2006,
Kerala
attracted
8.5 million
tourists,
an
increase
of
23.68%
over
the
previous
year,
making
the
state
one
of
the
fastest-growing
popular
destinations
in
the
world.[482] In
2011,
tourist
inflow
to
Kerala
crossed
the
10-million
mark.[483]aww
