The sixth edition of Kerala Travel Mart 2010 (KTM) will be held in Kochi, Kerala, India from September 23 to 26, 2010.
More than one thousand and five hundred participants from India and across the world have registered for Kerala Travel Mart 2010 (KTM).
The heritage palace, Bolgatty Palace Hotel located in the Bolgatty Island Kochi will host the KTM 2010. The change of the venue to a heritage building is an ideal shift to emphasise the importance of heritage structures in branding tourism sector of Kerala in an international travel forum such as Kerala Travel Mart where participants from all parts of the world are attending.
The Bolgatty Palace built in 1744, by Dutch traders is one of the oldest existing Dutch palaces outside Holland. The building was then the Governor's palace for the Dutch and later in 1909 was leased to the British. It served as the home of the British Governors, being the seat of the British Resident of Cochin during the British regime. In 1947, when India became independent the palace became the property of the state and was later converted into a heritage hotel by the tourism department.
The Mart will have 370 stalls including mooring facility for houseboats. This is 27 per cent growth in participation than the previous mart.
Supported by Kerala Tourism, this year's event will be indicative of the State's preparedness to attract tourists from countries just recovering from global recession.
Timed just ahead of the peak tourist season, the meet is aimed at preparing the stakeholders for a head start as Kerala is facing unprecedented competition from traditional rivals such as Goa and Rajasthan and also neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The tourism sector of Kerala faces tough competition from many stakeholders in the region. In an effort to build up its war-ravaged economy, Sri Lanka has started a campaign to lure premium traveler to the island nation. For Indians, Sri Lanka is a bargain tourist destination. Even Malaysia and Thailand are not far behind in their efforts to attract the discerning tourist.
International buyers from countries like Poland, Mexico, South Africa, Japan, China, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, the U.K., the U.S., Germany, France and those from countries in South Asia have registered as delegates. More than a thousand buyers from other states of India will also participate in this popular travel mart.
Organised during the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday of September biennial, KTM is the only tourism event in the subcontinent that brings together the business fraternity and entrepreneurs behind the tourism products and services of Kerala.
Launched in the year 2000 as KTM 2000, very successful Marts were conducted in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 with the participation of buyers from around 50 countries and other parts of India.
Primarily a buyer-seller meet where buyers fall in the categories of tour operators, travel agents, airline, event managers, travel writers, media personnel or anyone who has the potential to buy services that the tourism industry of Kerala has to offer. All sellers are members of the KTM society coming under the service categories of tourism industry service providers.
The Mart will be inaugurated on September 23, 2010. On September 24 and 25 there will be exclusive interactive sessions for the buyers and sellers. September 26 is open for the public.
About KTM: The Kerala Travel Mart Society is a registered Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1995. A permanent institution, the Society conducts the Travel Mart especially strives for the continuous public/private partnership to facilitate the promotion of Kerala as a tourism industry brand. The Society is governed by a President, Vice President, Hony. Secretary, Hony. Jt. Secretary, Hony. Treasurer and seventeen Committee members. There is a permanent Secretariat in Cochin headed by a CEO.
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