Thursday, February 19, 2015

Boosting Destination Kerala

“With the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) 2014 bringing in a huge volume of potential international and domestic business prospects, Kerala tourism is poised for a steady growth this year,” says Abraham George, president, Kerala Travel Mart Society. Excerpts from the interview:

What are the highlights of KTM 2014
As part of the KTM this year, we are giving the participants a life experience of the village theme. We also plan to showcase the village theme for which there will be a live demo of responsible tourism. Coir making, pottery making, thatching using coconut leaves etc will be part of the village experience. This will showcase the village products as well as give a village experience to the participants. 

Post the travel mart, from 21- 24 September, we are taking interested participants on a Post Mart FAM Tours, a 4 day tour of North and South Kerala, to gain a first-hand tourism experience of God’s own country. Similarly, we have also planned an exclusive houseboat experience and an Ayurvedic tour to key resorts in Kerala. These post event programs will definitely bring in business in future.

Could you please elaborate on the theme of KTM this year:
As part of the theme this year, we are showcasing Kerala as a wedding destination. We are also taking the initiative to take MICE to the next level by promoting the fabulous destinations unknown to global players.

Kerala is home to a lot of beaches and scenic locales which is ideal location for wedding. A lot of foreigners and non Keralites, spend crores to have a dream wedding in picturesque locations, we are naturally blessed with such places here. Why not showcase them to the outside world and attract more tourists to our land, thereby boost the tourism sector. 

How has the response of the participants been to KTM
For the first time, we did a detailed research and analised the potential first time buyers who could help boost Kerala tourism. 
With 280 international prospects and 940 domestic buyers, who are interested in the trade, the response to KTM this year was overwhelming. They have already confirmed their participation in the mart. Apart from UK, Germany and France, what is unique about this year’s KTM is that we have participants from Scandinavia, Middle East, South American countries like Brazil, Chile and Peru, who have shown interest this year. 

Online appointments have been fixed for them to meet the local sellers over the 3 days of the travel mart. In order to maximise the outcome, we have also announced attractive prizes for maximum meetings held. There has been good expression of interest shown by the international buyers.

What are the expectations from KTM 2014
We have high expectations from Kerala Travel Mart this year. This is the only travel fair in the world that is conducted “by the trade for the trade.” With the key highlights such as Post Mart FAM Tours and village theme experience for the first time, buyers from different parts of the world will have a first-hand experience of Kerala as an ideal destination for wedding and MICE. 

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