Poised to become the biggest edition in its 25-year-long history, the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM 2026), the country’s largest tourism and trade event, has attracted a record number of registrations, which include 800 international and 2,250 domestic buyers.
Of the total, 1,200 buyers will attend as hosted buyers, while 300 will participate as non-hosted buyers, taking the total to 1,500 buyers
Mr. V.D. Satheesan, Chief Minister of Kerala will formally inaugurate the 13th edition of India’s flagship tourism and hospitality business event at the Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Center on September 24.
Kerala Tourism Minister Mr. P.C. Vishnunadh will preside over the function. Excise and Cooperation Minister Mr. M. Liju will be the guest of honour.
Addressing a press meet at Kochi today, Mr Vishnunadh said the government aims to develop 100 new tourism destinations over the next five years. Twenty tourism destinations would be developed every year, with new destinations being identified in consultation with tourism industry stakeholders. The government would undertake infrastructure development in these destinations.
“Development works worth Rs 100 crore were being undertaken in Fort Kochi alone,” he informed.
Mr Vishnunadh also visited the Sagara and Samudrika Convention Centres on Wellington Island, the venues for the KTM business meetings to be held from September 25 to 27, and reviewed the preparations.
Mr Hibi Eden, MP; MLAs T.J. Vinod and Deepak Joy; Kerala Tourism Additional Director General Sumit Kumar Thakur; KTM president Jose Pradeep; secretary S. Swaminathan; former president Baby Mathew; and treasurer Jibran Asif were present.
There has also been a significant increase in the participation of tourism enterprises and institutions. As many as 383 sellers have completed stall bookings for the event. Twenty-five stalls representing various government institutions will also be part of the mart.
More than 45,000 business meetings have already been scheduled for business meets and marketing opportunities. The scale of the meetings points to the investment and trade opportunities available in Kerala’s tourism sector.
The participation of media from India and abroad is another notable feature of this edition of the KTM. A total of 138 media representatives — 71 international and 67 national journalists — have registered.
Business meets, meetings of tourism policymakers, and sector-specific seminars/ panel discussions featuring national and international experts will also be held during the four-day mart.
The post-mart tours will be organised from September 28 to October 3. This year, the tours will cover 12 different regions. A pre-mart tour for invited international and domestic media representatives with three different itineraries will also be organised ahead of the event staring from September 19.
Another major feature of this edition is the shift to a fully digital system. All processes at the mart, including registration, prescheduling of appointments, business-to-business (B2B) meetings, and accommodation & transport arrangements will be managed digitally.
A revamped software and mobile application will be used to provide real-time support and updates to participants during the event.
