The ninth edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) that concluded here on Friday witnessed around one lakh productive business meetings between sellers of Kerala tourism products and buyers from various States and countries, KTM Society office bearers said.
The meetings included both scheduled and unscheduled ones. Around 40,000 unscheduled meetings were held at the mart venue in Willingdon Island on Friday alone, said Abraham George, president of the society.
The participants at the mart, which is organised every two years, included representatives of tourism and trade bodies, tour operators, travel agents, and representatives of hospitality stakeholders — hotels, resorts, homestays and houseboats. “The sellers had quality appointments with potential buyers. First-timers too were an excited lot,” Mr Abraham added.
With as many as 265 stalls over an expansive venue, the mart witnessed registrations from 1,380 foreign and Indian delegates, besides showcasing a wide array of products and services from Kerala. It had ‘Responsible Tourism’ and ‘Muziris and Spice Route’ as the core themes.
“KTM aims at promoting tourism by empowering members of local communities. Hence, we adopted several corporate social responsibility projects to promote eco-friendly and responsible tourism. The nine-point agenda for action includes waste management, organic farming, efficient use of energy, and extensive use of local produce and products, rainwater harvesting, reducing use of plastic and increasing green cover,” Mr. Abraham said.
