It was tourism blooming all over Kochi on the second day of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) 2012. After the grand opening of KTM on Thursday the ‘tourism business’ kickstarted at Le Meridien Convention Centre on Friday with the business to business (B2B) meeting from the morning itself.
Buyers and sellers both from within and outside India have presented their products. There are full-fledged 12 houseboats in presentation outside the venue. The helicopter service from the Cochin International Airport was the major highlight of the meet.
This edition of KTM has seen the maximum number of participation compared to previous editions. As many as 354 international and 971 domestic buyers have come in for the mart, making a total of 1,325 buyers this time. Two years ago the participation was 1,200.
“The KTM 2012 is a big hit. This year we give thrust to ayurveda, adventure and convention tourism. Responsible tourism and sustainability is the theme of this edition. We are seeing active participation from all the stakeholders,” said Suman Billa, secretary of Kerala Tourism.
Although recessionary trends are prevailing in the West, people in the tourism sector are keen to participate in KTM, said Riaz Ahmed, president of Kerala Travel Mart Society.
“We got 104 domestic and 20 foreign spot registrations from buyers on day two of KTM, which shows the significance of the mart. A separate section has been provided for small players in the field and they are getting good business as well,” he said.
Tourism Minister A P Anilkumar visited the stalls and houseboats in the morning. Abdullaziz Al-Touijri, Director, Al-Muhaffiz Tour Company, Saudi Arabia, said the KTM is getting better over the years. “This time more space has been provided for the stalls. During the last edition, we got good business. This time also we expect the same,” he said.
M V Shreyams Kumar MLA, who is visiting Kerala Travel Mart for the first time, was very much impressed by the way it is organised. “Tourism has to be sold well and KTM provided an excellent platform for it. This year’s theme is very much relevant since responsibility, sustainability and waste management are the three areas that need attention when tourism is concerned,” the green league MLA said.
There will be two seminars on Saturday at the KTM. One will be on Buyers Reflections and the other on ‘Sellers -in the digital space’. On Sunday the KTM will be open to the public.
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