ABAD Hotels

Launched in 2000, Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), which has been quoted as the biggest ever travel event in India, is back this season. Starting on September 23, KTM-2010 is expected to be attended by over 2,000 delegates from 54 countries.

Riaz Ahmed, President of KTM, told reporters, “The record registration by the buyers from different countries, including Poland, Finland, Mexico and South Africa, shows the interest of buyers’ world over in the tourism sector of Kerala. A total of 551 international and 1,621 domestic buyers have registered for KTM-10. The United Kingdom has the highest number of participants for this mart.”

‘Athithi devo bhava’ will be the theme of the sixth edition of the biennial event. “The objective behind selecting the theme was that tourism was considered as an eternal rainbow connecting the countries, continents, people and above all the ‘athithi and athitheya’,” said Mr. Ahmed.

The Kerala Travel Mart is a platform for the buyers and sellers to interact. To make it more effective, KTM is introducing the concept of ‘speed networking’—enabling the participants to meet each other at least once for two-and-a-half minutes. Mr Ahmed said that though two or three minutes may not be enough to work out a business deal, it will surely be helpful to break the ice.

The event will be held from September 23-26 at the Bolgatty Palace Hotel at Bolgatty Island, Cochin. The buyers at the KTM include tour operators, travel agents, airlines, event managers, travel writers and media personnel, or anyone who has the potential to buy the services offered by the tourism industry. The last day of the mart (September 26) will be open to the public.