Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 22: The third Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), the biennial buyer-seller meet showcasing the 'God's Own Country,' will be held from September 30 to October 4 at Le Meridien Convention Centre at Kochi.
KTM this year would be organised on a bigger scale bringing in more tour operators from new markets like South America, USA, Russia, China and Japan, state Tourism Minister K V Thomas told a press conference here.
KTM 2000 and 2002 were resounding successes helping the present boom in tourist arrivals in Kerala. Nearly 1250 buyer delegates from India and abroad and 128 exhibitors from Kerala participated in 2002 mart, he said.
What is unique about KTM was that it was the only event focussing on a single destination, he said.
Key players in the field like hoteliers, resort owners, tour operators, travel agents and ayurveda centres would put on display a wide range of products at the mart.
The total cost for the event was estimated to be Rs 2.5 crore, of which the government would provide Rs 50 lakh.
KTM society president E M Najeeb and tourism secretary T Balakrishnan were also present.
Bureau Report
