Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 27 (IANS): To reach out to the French- and German-speaking tourists, Kerala Tourism has opened two new Facebook pages in these languages.

This is the first time a tourism department in any state in the country is opening official Facebook pages in foreign languages.

State Tourism Minister A.P. Anilkumar said it was important to communicate in various languages. "There are people around the world who love Kerala and it makes a lot of difference when we reach out to them in their language," the minister said.

The official French and German pages of Kerala Tourism on Facebook are interactive and reader-friendly, with photographs and descriptions, giving glimpses of key destinations across the state.

The French site can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/KeralaTourismeOfficiel. The German site is at https://www.facebook.com/KeralaTourismus.

France is the second-biggest foreign market for Kerala, after the United Kingdom.

Nearly 100,000 French tourists visited the state last year.

Germany is also a key market for Kerala, as the country ranks on the top of the list for foreign tourists arriving in the state for Ayurveda treatment.

"In today's technology-driven world, information can be made available on mobile phones and computer screens, and the choice of language plays a significant role, especially to reach out to a wider audience," Suman Billa, secretary in the Kerala Tourism department, said.

Last month, Kerala Tourism organised road shows in Paris and Barcelona, besides participating in a leading travel industry fair, Top Reza, in France in September.

Kerala Tourism's campaign to promote Ayurveda internationally, titled, "Kerala, The Home to Ayurveda", was launched last year at the ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Borse), Berlin, the world's top travel and tourism industry event.