Kerala Travel Mart, India’s largest tourism buyer-seller conclave to be held in Kochi from May 5 to 8, has elicited huge response from the domestic and foreign travel and hospitality industry, clearly reflecting the imminent surge in tourism activities, especially with air travel restrictions being lifted the world over.
So far, 374 foreign buyers and 1,171 domestic buyers have registered for participation in the event, and the trend is set to go up in the coming days, vouching the industry’s confidence in the post-pandemic resurgence of tourism.
The inaugural session of the KTM on May 5 will be followed by business meets on May 6 to 8 at Sagara and Samudrika convention centres at Willingdon Island, Kochi.
The industry’s response to the ensuing edition of KTM has been extremely encouraging, especially after the government announced its decision to lift air travel restrictions this month. Enquiries so far have even surpassed the response received by the pre-pandemic KTM conclaves, said Baby Mathew, President of KTM Society, the organiser of the event.
The pro-active steps taken by the Kerala Tourism Department for quick revival of tourism in the State have imparted an added thrust to KTM, he said.
Though the prime focus of this edition is on the domestic buyers, travel and tourism entrepreneurs from abroad are also showing great interest for participation, Mathew said
Government initiatives
The meet will feature excusive spaces to showcase ‘Keravan Kerala’, the state’s recently launched caravan tourism initiative, and the globally acclaimed Responsible Tourism.
Caravan Tourism — a trend-setting product that Kerala presents before the world — and Adventure Tourism will be the key themes of this edition of KTM.
The government’s initiatives to promote tourism in the Malabar region will also receive major attention at KTM.
Apart from the buyers and sellers, a record number of 75 foreign media representatives and 65 Indian media representatives have registered so far for attending the four-day event.
The previous edition of KTM was held virtually in March 2021 amid the worldwide gloom cast by Covid-19. Still, it turned out to be a major success, demonstrating that tourism has a leadership role to play in tiding over the pandemic-inducted economic recession.