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KOCHI, Oct. 4

KERALA Travel Mart has received overwhelming response with 856 buyers participating, of whom 324 are domestic and 532 foreign buyers, according to Prof K.V. Thomas, Minister of Tourism.

``Kerala tourism is the driving example for Indian tourism in many ways,'' Mr Amitabh Kant, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, said.

"It has turned out to be one of the major forces of the Kerala economy. The multiplier of effect of tourism is immense as well as the employment potential," he added.

Unlike the last time, this time round the buyers have also come from varied regions.

They include China, New Zealand, Australia, and many countries from the South American and Central Asian regions.

Local entrepreneurship was the high point of Kerala's tourism experience.

It could serve as a guiding example for other States to emulate.

``There are small one-room enterprises as well as five-room enterprises at the exhibition, showing the popular participation of the people in tourism in the State,'' Mr Kant said.

From a single State affair, Kerala Travel Mart is emerging to be a multi-State affair.

"There has been a 100 per cent growth in the number of buyers this year," Mr P. Balakrishnan, Secretary (Tourism), Kerala said.

States such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry are keen on participating in the venture and have availed of stalls, he added.

In all, there are 172 stalls at the current Kerala Travel Mart.

Due to the lack of space, the request from close to 10 other States and some foreign countries could not be accommodated.

Emulating the Kerala experience, tourism-led growth strategy is proving to be a viable avenue for other South Indian States to pursue.

Tourism is a Rs 5,000-crore industry in the State and is likely to grow at the rate of well over 10 per cent in the coming years.

"Tax revenue to the State alone is over Rs 500 crore per annum," Mr Balakrishnan said.

One of the prime focuses of the State should be to make this into a sustainable model.

The introduction of eco-tourism should be one way of making this a sustainable industry, sources in the industry said.

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