KOCHI:
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the 12th edition of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM-2024) in the city on Thursday, showcasing the state’s strength in tourism sector before an international audience and heralding its resurgence in the hospitality industry after the recent Wayanad tragedy.
The four-day event will open in the evening of September 26 at Le Meridien in suburban Kundannoor, with Tourism Minister P. A. Mohammed Riyas chairing the function that will have Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal as the chief guest.
Vijayan will accord a special recognition to the retired Chief Secretary Dr Venu V. for his “outstanding contributions to the growth of Kerala Tourism”. A keynote address will be delivered by Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism.
The biennial mart by the KTM Society in its 25th year is particularly high on optimism, featuring the highest-ever total of buyers at 2,839 (vis-à-vis the standing record of 1,305 in 2018). Of them, those in the domestic category add up to 2,035.
Thursday’s inaugural ceremony will be followed by three days of business sessions — all of them at the Sagara-Samudrika Convention Centre in Willingdon Island. The mart will also host an expo, which will be open for the public on the last day (September 29).
The opening function at Le Meridien will honour the past presidents and secretaries of the KTM, which is into its silver jubilee year. Present Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan will release a ‘Seller’s Directory’. Tourism Secretary K. Biju will give a presentation on Kerala Tourism, as the focal points of KTM-2024 are Responsible Tourism, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), wedding destination and cruise.
Felicitation addresses will be delivered by Hibi Eden, MP and MLAs K. Babu, K.J. Maxi and T.J. Vinod, besides Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Chairman P.K. Sasi and Kerala Tourism Director Sikha Surendran, who is also MD of KTDC. KTM Society President Jose Pradeep will welcome the gathering, while Secretary S. Swaminathan will propose thanks.
Of the 808 foreign buyers from 76 countries at KTM 2024, 67 are from the UK, 60 from the Gulf and 55 from the US. While the buyers from Russia total 34, those from the rest of Europe total 245. There will be 41 buyers from Africa, while the others are from East Asia. As for domestic buyers, Maharashtra (578) tops the list, followed by Delhi (340) and Gujarat (263).
The September 26-29 mart, which is being organized with support from other agencies of the state as well as industry besides assistance from the state Tourism Department, heralds as a “total digital revolution” in KTM as the organisers have come up with software that ensures the smooth conduct of B2B meetings. Also, there is a pioneering app strictly adhering to the green protocol.
As a run-up to KTM-2024, a four-day pre-mart tour is on from September 22, involving mediapersons, vloggers and influencers. From September 30, there will also be a five-day post-mart tour across Kerala for select buyers who attended the event.
The 12th KTM accords special focus to Kerala as a wedding destination. Cruise tourism is another area where the event is giving focus, even as serial landslides in the state’s northeastern Vythiri taluk this July-end wreaked havoc along hilly Wayanad district.
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