The 8th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), which is being held in Kochi during September 18-20 this year, will project ‘God’s Own Country’ as an ideal destination for weddings and honeymoon as well as for conferences and exhibitions, its President Abraham George (Johny) said .
The KTM is the only travel and tourism fair in the country that showcases a single destination.
Mr George, who is also the Managing Director of Intersight Tours and Travels, said the focus would also be on reaching out to the ‘new market’ like the United States, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Norway, Poland, South Africa and Sweden.
The Mart will also highlight innovative tourism products like village life experience and culture tours, he said, addressing media persons here.
Launched 13 years ago, KTM, which is India’s largest buyer-seller travel and tourism event, is a pioneering initiative by both the government and the industry to promote tourism in Kerala. Organised once in two years, the fair this year will be held at the Samudrika Convention Centre of the Cochin Port Trust located in the picturesque Willingdon Island.
“The overwhelming response to the previous editions of KTM has inspired the Kerala Travel Mart Society to innovate, think out-of–the-box and take each Mart to the next level,” said Mr. George, while addressing the media in Delhi last night.
“KTM 2014 will project Kerala as the ideal destination for weddings and honeymoons along with conferences and exhibitions. At the mart, we will have destination wedding themes to focus on this segment. These emerging segments are being viewed very seriously by tourist destinations and KTM intends to increase Kerala’s market share to an additional 5,000 crores,” Mr. George said.
A big turnout of MICE tourism (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) operators, global wedding planners, wellness and adventure tour operators are expected at KTM 2014.
In a move aimed at promoting MICE tourism, the Kerala Government had cut luxury tax on convention centres and auditoriums with a daily rent exceeding Rs 20,000 to 10 per cent from 20 per cent in the state budget announced in January this year.
Held in partnership with Kerala’s Department of Tourism, the KTM, organized by the Kerala Travel Mart Society, brings together the business entrepreneurs behind the tourism products and services of Kerala on a single platform. Tour operators, hotels, resorts, home stays, houseboat owners, Ayurveda resorts and cultural art centres will showcase their products at the Mart.
"From its inception, there has been an overwhelming response from the national and international buyers at the KTM, which has reflected in the steady escalation in the variety of tourism products and in the numbers of participants, both buyers and sellers," Mr. George said.
Over the last 13 years since the first Mart, KTM has attracted over 1,000 international buyers, who have established business partnerships among the various sections in the tourism industry of Kerala. The previous edition, KTM 2012, was attended by more than 1,250 buyers.
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