The seventh edition of the Kerala Travel Mart, one of the biggest trade shows in South Asia, will be held from September 27 to 30, 2012 at Le Meridien Convention Centre, Cochin, India. Around 1,500 buyers from 50 countries, including India, are expected to take part in the four day KTM 2012.
The only Mart in the country focusing on a single destination, KTM is the largest gathering of its kind designed, planned and scheduled to facilitate meetings involving buyers, sellers, media, government agencies and others. It brings together the business fraternity and entrepreneurs behind Kerala’s unique tourism products and services. With seminars, farm tours and cultural evenings, the biennial event offers participants a first hand experience of Kerala, what makes it India’s tourism super brand. The Mart, organised by the tourism trade in Kerala under the banner of Kerala Travel Mart Society, in association with the Government, was launched in 2000. In the 2010 edition, 1,172 buyers from 42 countries participated. The high point of the event is the rare synergy that exists between the private and public players. The seller profile includes airlines, adventure tour operators, amusement parks, backwater resorts, Ecotourism operators, wedding and honeymoon holiday operators, while buyer profile includes tour operators, travel agents, event managers, travel writers, among others.
KTM 2012 features B2B sessions, seminars on Buyers’ reflections, Sellers In the digital space, and Responsible Tourism. There will be 108 tables, 296 modules and 12 houseboat parking bays. State of the art online facilities have been provided to both the buyers and the sellers for them to interact better. Appointment schedules between buyers and sellers and the booking of stalls have been made available online. The organisers are introducing bar coded badges to all the registered participants.
