The Hindu Business Line : CM to open Kerala Travel Mart at Kochi

With the Tourism Departments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka sharing eight stalls, the KTM will have an ethnic South Indian flavour this time.

Kochi , Sept. 28

THE Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, will inaugurate the Kerala Travel Mart 2004, the international travel and tourism fair organised by KTM Society here on Wednesday.

The inaugural function, to be held at the Le Meridien International Convention Centre, will be presided over by Mr K.C. Venugopal, State Tourism Minister.

KTM 2004 has evoked overwhelming response from national and international buyers. According to organisers, around 850 quality buyers from emerging markets such as Singapore, UAE and Japan apart from key tourism buyer markets such as the UK, Germany, Italy, USA and Netherlands, including travel media representatives from various part of the world will be attending the event.

With the objective of luring the trade from newer markets, Kerala Tourism has been marketing KTM 2004 aggressively in many more countries. As a result, this year's KTM will, in addition to most of the earlier participants, witness the participation of trade from Egypt, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro. A fairly large contingent is also coming from Japan and China.

All the major airlines flying to Kerala — Air India, Sri Lankan Airlines, Silk Air, Qatar Air and Gulf Air — have extended their support for the Mart and the leading hotels in Kochi are offering complimentary or discounted rates for KTM delegates. Special arrangements are also being made for pre- and post-mart tours which will be organised for the delegates so that they can have a first hand experience of the destination.

The KTM Society with its 120 strong member companies drawn from the travel and tour trade have strongly established an understanding and association with the Governmental initiatives in promoting tourism in the State.

The KTM seller community largely constitutes the 120 members of the KTM Society, showcasing myriad tourism products and services to the international travel fraternity. Of the 151 stalls, small and medium industry players booked more than 70 stalls and bookings were closed 45 days before the event.

With the Tourism Departments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka sharing eight stalls, the KTM will have an ethnic South Indian flavour this time.

KTM 2004, unlike other major B2B events in India and abroad, is focused on marketing the `experience of Kerala'. The opportunities are very few for small players in the State to attend international travel marts, as it is not affordable to them. KTM gives them better exposure to a global market.

The formal event will begin at 7.00 p.m. with a curtain-raiser presentation about the event by Mr E.K. Bharat Bhushan. Water Colours of Life, a promotional short film on Kerala Tourism will be screened after the presentation.

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