KOCHI: The fifth edition of Kerala Travel Mart, India’s biggest buyer-seller meet for tourism products, concluded here last week with a call for greater focus on Responsible Tourism (RT) taking all stakeholders into confidence.
The biennial meet discussed the latter-day concept of rural tourism in detail besides branding and marketing, innovative product creations, view from overseas markets, operational needs, visitor requirements, demand and supply sides.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan who inaugurated the mart amid drumbeats, said Kerala tourism, at an annual growth rate of more than 20 percent, had beaten Turkey in international tourist arrivals.
“Last year we have registered 25 percent growth in revenue and the sector now earns more than Rs.1,000 crores (Rs.100 billion). We are now developing a smart waterway connecting the north and south parts of the state and building the third international airport in the northern city of Kannur,” he said. “We have realized the seminal role played by the sector and lent all encouragement to make it a key component of the state’s economy.”
“India’s super brand and Asia’s new age destination” has now set a target for itself to generate 1.2 million more jobs and Rs.560 billion in revenue from its booming tourism industry by 2013.
“Last year, the industry generated Rs.120 billion, 26 percent up from the previous year, and with a focused marketing campaign worldwide, we hope to achieve this target easily. The RT initiative launched last year is also helping the industry to grow in a big way,” the state’s Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said.
With more than a million people working in the sector, tourism is the biggest employment provider in this industrially backward southern Indian state that has more than half of its employable youths working outside their home state.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of KTM, the minister said the global recession would not affect the industry as the state has already made several initiatives to explore new regions.
“The best strategy is to attract more domestic tourists, who comprise 60 percent of the visitors already. We have also conducted several road shows across India, which is making tremendous impact,” the minister said. “There was a 22 percent increase in domestic tourist arrivals last year.”
Besides the Tourism Resorts Kerala Limited (TRKL), the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is also collaborating with private players to build new hotels and resorts throughout the state.
“We need at least 10,000 additional rooms to meet the growing demand. At this meet, the KSIDC signed 14 such projects, mostly in Malabar,” Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem said. “The KSIDC has facility to provide a loan of up to Rs.200 million for a project and in consortium with other banks up to Rs.900 million.”
The KSIDC-supported projects include five star hotels and a golf club. “We are extending Rs.2.5 billion to these 14 new ventures. They will together generate 2,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs,” Kareem said. “Tourism has emerged as Kerala’s future economy. All classes of people have benefited from it.”
E.M. Najeeb, chairman of the KTM Society, which runs the biennial show, said medical tourism is another area that the industry is going to focus on to offset the global meltdown.
“We have excellent hospitals that attract large number of medical value tourists. Cost factor and excellent service from the professionals here continue to attract them to Kerala,” he said. The state government has also announced its plans to set up a “MediCity” for medical tourists where facilities for any kind of treatment and leisure would be available.
Buyers from some 50 countries attended the four-day mart. The sellers included five specialty hospitals, 16 Ayurveda wellness centers, 26 homestays, 14 houseboats, 78 resorts, 59 tour operators and 46 hotels, including major hotel chains like Taj, Le-Meridien, Leela and CGS Earth.
“We had 570 international and 1,050 domestic buyers and 312 stalls selling their products. The overall response was tremendous,” said Najeeb.
Airlines like Air India, SriLankan, Silk Air and Jet Airways brought a large number of tour operators to the mart. Leading hotels in and around Kochi are providing 700 rooms free of cost to the participants at the event organized by India’s tourism super brand.
Countries represented at the mart included Saudi Arabia, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, Austria, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Brazil, the UK, US, UAE, Oman and Kuwait.
