Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 15 (IANS) Top corporate leaders from Silicon Valley were hugely impressed after taking part in a 'Kerala Evening' organised there by Kerala Tourism, said state Tourism Minister A.P. Anilkumar on Friday.

"It was a significant day in the history of our state's tourism sector," he said here.

The executives of several high-tech companies in Silicon Valley attended the corporate meet at the Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto on Thursday addressed by Kerala Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao.

The US is a key market for Kerala Tourism as in-bound tourism from America to Kerala has grown about 40 percent in the past two years.

"Our first-ever corporate meet in the Silicon Valley is a crucial step towards further increasing those numbers," said Anilkumar.

In 2014, the number of American tourists who visited Kerala was 76,616 compared to 55,741 in 2011.

The Kerala Tourism event was intended to introduce Kerala as a destination to the companies in the Silicon Valley and also to portray the state as an investor-friendly destination.

Apart from the destination promotion, the various investment opportunities available in the state were also presented.

Rao, who made the presentation also extended an invite to the technology community in California to visit the state as well as invest in Kerala's progress.

"Kerala is growing as a destination for corporate leaders and executives around the world because of its beautiful as well as peaceful locations to talk and do business," added Rao.

The Kerala Evening was also marked by the screening of Kerala Tourism's global marketing campaign films portraying village life experiences in the state.