Kerala cultural extravaganza in London's Trafalgar Square

The Trafalgar Square in London reverberated to the beat of the 'chenda' drums as the fluid movements of 'Kathakali' dancers mesmerised more than 50,000 people gathered there to witness a Kerala Tourism-organised performance, an official release here said on Monday.

There were presentations in the 'Mayor of London' event in the British capital on Sunday that included a series of traditional music, dance and martial arts performances as part of promoting Kerala.

Kerala chief secretary Jiji Thomson introduced the cultural extravaganza to the audience at the function attended by Deputy Mayor of London Roger Evans.

"Kerala is a top destination on the world tourism map because of the harmony between our land and culture as seen in the beautiful backwaters, majestic hills or calm country sides in the state," said Thomson.

"Investing in Kerala's tourism sector is being part of the mission to save the nature and the planet as we are the world leaders in practising sustainable and responsible tourism," said the top bureaucrat.

Britain is the biggest tourism market for Kerala with 151,497 travellers from there having visited the south Indian state last year.

The Kerala delegation also met prominent tour operators and top media persons in London to promote the 'Visit Kerala' campaign.

"We are confident of a major increase in foreign tourist arrivals in the state during the 'Visit Kerala' year and beyond," said Kerala Tourism secretary G. Kamala Vardhana Rao.

Kerala Tourism will also participate in the influential World Trade Mart (WTM) in London, to be held from November 2 to 5, and with the who's who of global travel and tourism industry attending.