Kerala Travel Mart in Kochi from Sept 18

The Kerala Government’s Tourism Department is partnering with the Kerala Travel Mart Society to host the 8th edition of KTM which brings together the business entrepreneurs and services of Kerala.

Aiming to project Kerala as an ideal destination for weddings, honeymoons and conferences, the three- day Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) will get underway in Kochi from September 18. According to

AP Anil Kumar, Tourism Minister, Kerala, the mart aims to highlight innovative tourism products such as village life experience and culture tours. “This time, the mart will reach out to buyers from new markets like Australia, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Japan, South Africa, Sweden and USA. These emerging segments are being viewed seriously by tourist destinations and KTM intends to increase Kerala’s market share to an additional ` 5,000 crore. Only 10 per cent of the national inbound tourist traffic reaches the state and the KTM has set a target of 15 per cent arrivals from new and emerging markets,” he pointed out.

Tour operators, hotels, resorts, home stays, houseboats, Ayurveda resorts, cultural art centres and many others will be showcasing their products at the Mart. Over the past 13 years, since the first Mart, KTM has attracted over 1,000 international buyers who have established business partners among the various sections in the tourism industry of Kerala.

The Minister said that the global slowdown had not impacted international arrivals to the state. Lamenting the sluggish growth last year, he informed, “Both domestic and foreign tourist arrivals have increased in 2013. However, the state did not get the expected growth. Kerala Tourism is planning to conduct a survey of hotels, home stays and tour operators in the state and it is expected to be ready in a month’s time.”

Going forward, Responsible Tourism ( RT) model in Kumarakom, which won accolades for Kerala government from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation ( UNWTO) in February, will also be extended to 112 Panchayats in the first phase. “RT has

the been devised for the benefit of the common man. The benefits of the tourism sector should not be limited to a select few industrialists and hoteliers. The local people should get the benefit of the growth of the tourism sector in the state. We will take forward the successful implementation of RT model across the state through public participation,” he said. The minister also said the government had organised a technical workshop for all Panchayat presidents in the state to highlight the benefits of the RT model and implement it.

Only 10% of the national inbound tourist traffic reaches the state and the KTM has set a target of 15% arrivals from new and emerging markets

AP Anil Kumar

Tourism Minister , Kerala