Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) could reinvigorate the pandemic-hit tourism sector attracting more domestic and foreign visitors to the State, K.S. Srinivas, principal secretary, Tourism, has said.
Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday, Mr Srinivas said KTM that concluded in Kochi earlier this month had sent a message across the world that tourism activities were back in full swing in Kerala.
The four-day event infused afresh optimism in the State’s renewed efforts to attract more domestic and foreign tourists, Srinivas said. The international business-to-business meets that Kerala Tourism conducted recently would be able to boost the arrival of foreign tourists, including the visitors from West Asia.
Noting that the State’s Caravan Tourism initiative ‘Keravan Kerala’ is a brilliant idea to lure visitors, he lauded the organisers for showcasing it prominently in the event.
By setting a platform for direct interactions between buyers and sellers, KTM was able to convince the world that Kerala is ready to welcome visitors as a safe destination of diverse attractions, said V.R. Krishna Teja, Director, Kerala Tourism. The tourism sector buyer-seller meet could also achieve the target of hosting 55,000 business-meets during the four-day conclave.
KTM-2022 facilitated 49,000 online interactions between buyers and sellers, while 6,000 allied meetings also took place, said KTM Society president Baby Mathew Somatheeram. The total number of buyers came around 1,200, which includes 897 from domestic market and 234 from abroad (59 nations). No other place in the world held an event as big as KTM after the slide in the pandemic, said Mathew.
Two post-KTM tours were also arranged—to central and south Kerala—as part of the event. Overall, 500 delegates from other States of the country and abroad became part of the tourism-promotion packages. KTM Society secretary Jose Pradeep and former president E.M. Najeeb were also present at the press meet.
