Kerala Tourism has launched an ‘International Photography Contest’ through its website, calling for entries that would highlight the state’s tourism potential.

With www.keralatourism.org facilitating participation from across the world, the competition that began on September 24—with the theme ‘Kerala’—will have the topper gifted with Rs 5 lakh. The second and third prizes are purses of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively. Plus, there are five consolation prizes of Rs 1 lakh each.

“It’s for the first time we are coming out with a contest endowed with such huge amounts as prize money,” said Kerala Tourism Minister, Shri A P Anil Kumar.

Each contestant can make a maximum of three entries. The photographs should be original and taken between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2015; the participant should hold its copyright. Digitally manipulated photographs will be disqualified. The submissions must have at least 1000 pixels but not more than 3000 pixels in either height or width. They should be saved as Jpegs (.jpg), and not exceed 4MB per file, at 72dpi resolution. The selected images, which will depict Kerala in multiple perspectives, will be further added to Kerala tourism’s image bank.

Kerala, known for its varied topography and colourful festivals, has always served as a photographer’s paradise. Considered as one of the countries with the highest brand recall, the tropical and green southern Indian state has already made its mark in the international tourism map.

“This competition that attracts participants from across the globe will further expand the state’s tourism market and encourage more visitors to explore our land,” said Kerala Tourism Secretary, Shri G Kamala Vardhana Rao.

Kerala Tourism Director Shri P I Sheik Pareeth noted that nearly one crore people visit the state every year on holiday. “Of these, many are photography enthusiasts,” he added.

The competition that ends on December 31st will give visitors to the website, an opportunity to submit their ratings on the competing photographs.

Participants can avail further details from https://www.keralatourism.org/photo_contest/