KTM Summit will Add Momentum to Growth of Kerala Tourism: Minister Riyas

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Virtual summit of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), scheduled from May 3 to 6, will significantly contribute to Kerala Tourism’s efforts to attract both domestic and foreign tourists in record numbers by positioning the state as an all-season experiential destination of diverse attractions, Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said.

“I am glad to announce that the country’s largest tourism sector buyer-seller meet, Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), is all set to commence on May 3. The virtual edition of the summit aims at strengthening the tourism in Kerala by firming up partnerships with buyers from across the world,” Riyas said.

Organised by the apex tourism trade body KTM Society with the support of the state government, the event will yield quite a large number of business decisions between the domestic sellers and buyers from abroad and other states.

“The previous editions of KTM had shown how the robust public-private partnership followed by Kerala could yield tremendous results, benefiting the entire ecosystem”, Riyas said.

“The ensuing edition of KTM assumes added significance as it comes close on the heels of Kerala clinching an all-time record in domestic tourist arrivals, and the outlook for foreign tourist footfall gaining pace looks positive, signalling the complete revival of the vital sector from the pandemic-triggered downturn”, the Minister said.

“As we all know, the revival of Kerala Tourism from the pandemic-induced recession has been remarkable. Domestic tourist arrivals rose to an all-time high crossing over 1.88 crore in 2022. This even exceeded the pre-pandemic 2019, which had the highest domestic footfall until then. We are expecting the current year to surpass even this mark, on the strength of our novel products and promotional campaigns”, Riyas said.

By setting a platform for direct interactions, the conclave will rope in new buyers to impart a further impetus to the efforts of the Tourism Department, he said, extending wholehearted support to the event, which will give prominence to the government’s tourism initiatives

“The state expects this conclave, being held with the backing of the State Tourism Department, will have a positive impact on Kerala Tourism’s initiatives to woo more foreign tourists to Kerala,” said K S Sreenivas, Principal Secretary, Tourism.

“This edition of KTM will be an excellent platform to project before the world, the upfront initiatives of Kerala Tourism side-by-side the time-tested assets”, said Tourism Director, PB Nooh.

“The previous editions of KTM had received tremendous response from all corners of the world. We expect the upcoming edition to be a resounding success, yielding a record number of business deals which will expedite the total recovery of tourism sector from ravages wreaked by Covid-19 pandemic”, KTM Society President Baby Mathew said.

By hosting 55,000 business meets, the KTM 2022 edition had succeeded in letting the world know that the tourism activities in the State were back in full swing after the pandemic-triggered recession. It also facilitated 49,000 online interactions between buyers and sellers, whereas, 6,000 allied meetings also took place. While the total number of buyers came around 1,200, which includes 897 from the domestic market, their number from abroad (59 nations) totalled 234.