KTM 2014 TO TAKE PLACE AT SAMUDRIKA CONVENTION CENTRE
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The Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) has found a new home for its 2014 edition – the Samudrika Convention Centre in Kochi. The event will take place from 18-20 September 2014, with the inaugural function scheduled for 17 September 2014 at Le Meridien, Cochin.
A Kerala Village Theme is being planned for this edition of KTM which will give a glimpse of the rural life of Kerala. Adding a plethora of responsible elements, the village life presents a wide range of opportunities for the tour operators to create itineraries based on the Kerala Villages. The Mart will also showcase Kerala, as an ideal spot for destination weddings as well as MICE.
The response from the buyers has been overwhelming, with 525 International buyers and around 1700 Domestic buyers registered so far. Out of this, 273 International buyers and 803 Domestic buyers have already reconfirmed their participation.
UK, Spain, Germany France and Russia top the list of International buyers, around 25-30 from each country. However, the distinctive feature of this edition of KTM is the participation from relatively new markets for Kerala, like Australia (30) South Africa (12) Malaysia (36) and a strong presence from Scandinavia, Netherlands, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin American countries right from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.
The Sellers’ (Exhibitors) response too has been tremendous where all the 245 stalls were sold out in a record time of just two days. hotels & resorts (137, including groups), tour operators & Dmcs (52), homestays (12), houseboat operators (07), ayurveda resorts (08), ayurveda centres (07), hotel management consultants (8) form the major chunk of the exhibitors along with other service providers like adventure tour operators, farm stays, tourism associations, tourism technology providers, event managers, amusement parks, convention centres, private museums, and speciality hospitals occupying rest of the space.