Three-day Kerala Travel Mart witnesses around one lakh business meetings

KOCHI: The ninth edition of the three-day Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) that concluded on Friday witnessed around one lakh business meetings.
KTM, the largest conclave of tourism stakeholders in the state and the only such gathering in India focusing on a single destination, saw 60,000 meetings over the first two days.

“As the final day was open to the public, there were around 40,000 unscheduled meetings held at the Mart. Overall, the response from the buyers and sellers has been overwhelming,” said KTM Society President, Abraham George, during a press briefing on Friday.

Besides tourism and trade officials from Kerala and other neighbouring states, tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers, as well as owners of resorts, houseboats and home-stays participated in KTM 2016.

“The sellers had quality appointments with potential buyers during the Mart. Even the first-timers are excited as the platform helped them improve business volume,” Abraham George said.

With 265 stalls over an expansive venue, KTM 2016, which saw registrations from 1,380 foreign and Indian delegates, showcased a wide array of products and services from across Kerala. KTM 2016 had as its core themes, ‘Responsible Tourism’ and ‘Muziris and Spice Route’.

“KTM aims to develop tourism by empowering the local community. Hence, we adopted the agenda nine CSR activity to promote eco-friendly and responsible tourism,” he said. The nine-point agenda for action calls for measures to tackle waste management, promote organic farming, efficient use of energy and extensive use of local produce and products. Other key areas are rainwater harvesting, reducing the use of plastics, and improving greenery.