Tourism News
Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) Goes Virtual
The 11th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) 2020 will be held online, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of this year's KTM will be on showcasing products and SOPs tailormade to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The mega trade and fair event is expected to be held for five days in November, and registrations for the same will begin soon.
The KTM which connects travel agents from across the globe and the service providers in Kerala is going virtual for the first time since its inception. The stalls by the sellers will be set up in a convention centre and live streaming of the event will be held. The timings for the five-day-event have been decided from 12 noon - 12 midnight, in line with the different time zones of the buyers in the international market. Buyers can explore the stalls virtually, view the tourism products, and make appointments with sellers of their interest to further the trade talks.
"The focus should be on giving confidence to the buyers. The businesses will have to come up with products that will convince and create awareness among the community of buyers on the efforts taken to address the challenges posed by the pandemic," sources said. While the number of participants for a normal KTM event has been pegged at 1500, the industry insiders expect more buyers to join the event, now that it is conducted virtually. Aggressive email and social media campaigns will be launched to spread the word across the international community.
