COCHIN, 30 September 2006 — Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan kicked off the fourth edition of the biennial Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), billed as the only buyer-seller conclave of the industry in the subcontinent, at a glittering function here recently.
India’s Tourism Minister Ambika Soni, who was the chief guest at the function, said multiple-entry long-term visas valid for five to 10 years and visa on arrival would soon be introduced. All foreign missions will have tourist desks with “outsourced” staff to meet the shortage.
The KTM is trying to lure more tourists from the Gulf region, say event organizaers.
Most of the participants of the KTM from Gulf countries in previous years came on a sponsored trip and were not genuine sellers or buyers. “We’ve decided to revise our strategies. We have to conduct more Gulf-focused campaigns with contents in Arabic,” said Jose Dominic, the expo’s organizing committee chairman.
The chief minister said the number of foreign guests visiting the state grew by 34 percent and more holidaymakers are expected this season. Kerala is fast emerging as a major destination for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.
Exuding confidence in the tourism potential of Kerala, Ambika Soni said the state would become the most favored destination for worldwide tourists in the near future.
She said her ministry had spent about two billion rupees ($43.5 million) for marketing Indian tourism internationally and domestically, adding that Kerala was promoted as the No. 1 tourist state.
The development in this sector would be phenomenal in future and would generate ample employment for young people in the state, she noted. Stressing the importance of environment, Ambika Soni said it should be protected at any cost. People should take up the issue across the political spectrum, she added.
The travel mart is expected to be a big draw with a number of buyers arriving from far away countries with new products of lesser-known sellers increasingly turning up at the event.
Among the leading buyers are Andy Zaraggen, president of the Swiss Outbound Tour Operators, Nicholas Denbigh of Manos Holidays and Mary Ann Denyson of the Britain-based Mahouts. New markets like Japan, Argentina and Brazil have an impressive presence. Japan, which had a token participation in the last mart, came with the largest contingent of 30 buyers. Argentina follows with 21 buyers.
Dominic said buyers from the Middle East were lesser than expected “maybe because the state still has an image problem in the Gulf as a source of cheap labor”.
“Strategies have not borne fruit to lure the West Asian tourists because of the image of India as a poor country thriving on cheap labor exports,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the show.
“Their participation at the mart is very minimal this year, reflecting the level of interest in the state. Last time, it was far better,” he added.
More than 300,000 foreign and six million domestic tourists visited Kerala last year and the state had earned more than 70 billion rupees ($1.5 billion) in revenue. According to the World Tourism Organization, Kerala has the highest rate of growth of foreign tourist arrivals in the world.
This time KTM has been marked by a crop of new, small and less known sellers putting up stalls to display wares of unique packages covering wedding, honeymoon, monsoon, medical and farm-stay tours to nearly 700 buyers from 60 countries.
“The new buyers have helped the mart shift its focus to new areas and this has catapulted Kerala into a round-the-year destination,” KTM Society CEO Mathew Philip said.
Health care tourism is catching up. But the most sought-after Ayurveda has almost been edged out at the stalls by modern hospitals and clinics that offer super specialty services with world-class facilities.
The organizers say the show will generate good business since serious buyers have come on their own unlike in the previous marts when most of the participants were lured by free travel and hospitality. This time 90 percent of the buyers came on their own.
The KTM witnessed the launch of a new travel portal offering a wide range of services like choice of cheap airfares and hotel travel packages for holidaymakers.
“The portal www.traveldost.com will make travel easier, cheaper, convenient and transparent,” said George Tharakan, former regional director (Gulf) of Air-India, while introducing the e-travel portal.
— Additional input from M.M. Naeem
