The four-day KTM-2022 has been an exemplary model for public-private partnership, triggering a mood of enthusiasm among the state’s tourism stakeholders, he said at the valedictory ceremony of the May 5-8 meet in the state’s commercial capital Kochi.
Earnest activities among states are vital for Kerala’s steady progress of tourism as a vital sector of the economy, especially amid the ongoing post-Covid recovery efforts, Mr Arif Mohammad Khan, Governor of Kerala said at Kochi.
“A meaningful engagement among the Indian states is very important for sustainable and inclusive development of tourism. This is the right time to further strengthen the cooperation and coordination among the states in the tourism sector for the benefit of everyone,” he said while inaugurating the eleventh edition of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) which is the country’s biggest tourism event.
Noting that a prolonged restriction on international flights owing to the global pandemic had nourished Kerala with domestic tourism, the Governor said Kerala needs to retain its warm ties with other states of the country for the travel industry to flourish further.
At Grand Hyatt in Bolgatty on May 5, 2022, the Governor noted that tourism, apart from being an economic activity, is a cultural experience that transcends borders. “Being conscious of the need for a robust partnership in reviving tourism, Kerala has ensured healthy government-industry collaboration in tourism. In fact, the state has set a successful model on how a rewarding partnership between the administration and the travel and hospitality industry could lead to a win-win situation,” he said at the ceremony where prominent industrialist Mr M.A. Yusuff Ali was the guest of honour.
Mr Yusuff Ali called for more investments in infrastructure development and capacity building in the context of increasing demand created by new trends in post-pandemic tourism. “Shopping and conventions have the potential to attract more tourists,” he noted. “KTM-2022 gives the world the message that Kerala is back on its feet in tourism after the pandemic.”
Dr Venu V., Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, said KTM-2022 demonstrates the resilience of the people of Kerala, ending two years of the slump in the sector. “This event is set to become a turning point, heralding a surge in the state’s revival of tourism,” he added.
Mr K.S. Srinivas IAS, Principal Secretary- Tourism, Government of Kerala said KTM-2022 gifts the state a “great opportunity” to strengthen tourism that has been in the doldrums for the past two years owing to COVID-19.
Mr V.R. Krishna Teja IAS, Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala made a presentation on the newest trends and products that the government offers to the visitors.
Kerala made a decisive surge towards ending two years of the pandemic-riddled lull in its tourism activities, as Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) concluded today with Chief Secretary Dr V.P. Joy hailing the country’s biggest buyer-seller meet as a springboard to regaining visitors after Covid-19.
“The government will provide the KTM Society and the entire tourism fraternity all its support to revitalise the travel industry in Kerala,” Dr Joy told the final session of the international event at Willingdon Island.
Noting that Kerala has figured on the list of the UN’s Human Development Index during the past three years, the top bureaucrat highlighted the role of tourists for the state’s economy to progress steadily. “We have both beautiful nature and warm people. We must strengthen tourism infrastructure,” he pointed out at the end of KTM-2022 which had delegates from 69 countries holding 55,000 business meets.
While brainstorming on various steps that would rejuvenate tourism in a post-COVID era, experts from across the country and abroad addressed four seminars. The paperless event was held in a space of 1.5 lakh square feet at Sagara and Samudrika convention centres.
Mr Baby Mathew Somatheeram, President, KTM Society chairing the session, said the mart will be followed by a travel package for 300 delegates to the state’s northern, central and southern regions. “We have also arranged a chartered flight to Kannur this Tuesday. They will have a week’s local tour to know more about Malabar, which is our new focus of tourism,” he added.
KTM 2022, which featured 325 stalls that were open to the public since the afternoon of Sunday, gave a platform to around 1,500 buyers, more than 300 of them international.
Renewed emphasis on eco-tourism is welcome while bringing travellers back after two years of COVID lull, but the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals should not amount to reining in the overall economic development of any region, speakers at the KTM 2022 seminar session at Kochi.
Also, the catchwords and packages on travel should appeal more to the tech-savvy young generation whose behavioural pattern is comparatively less emotional, the speakers noted at the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), the country’s biggest tourism event.
Not only do the initial trends in post-pandemic travel point to a need for altered marketing strategy, the tourism products themselves have to match the perception about destinations, but experts also suggested at a seminar on ‘God’s Own Country — Version 2.0’.
Initiating discussions at the two-hour session, the Man behind Kerala- God’s Own Country slogan, logo and branding exercise and former top bureaucrat Mr K. Jayakumar IAS ( Rtd) said constant refrain on ecological conservation would sound “empty rhetoric” if they are not matched with green initiatives.
“We should go for a holistic up-gradation in the quality of experience we serve to visitors, and not go for islands of tourism excellence,” the former Kerala Chief Secretary said at the talks moderated by Mr Riaz Ahmed, past president of KTM Society which is organising the mart at Sagara and Samudrika convention centres in Willingdon Island.
As the director and Secretary of Kerala’s Tourism for seven years from 1988 when the department initiated a massive transition under the name of ‘God’s Own Country’, Mr Jayakumar called for continued zest and innovation to reinforce Kerala as a premium brand in the global travel market. “The pandemic has made sanitation of destinations and safety of visitors vital like never before,” he pointed out at the seminar on the penultimate day of the May 5-8 KTM that is hosting 55,000 business meets in a space of 1.5 lakh square feet.
Mr Jayakumar, who is currently Director at the Institute of Management in Government Thiruvananthapuram, said the tourism industry must expect lower tolerance from the new generation, whose travel plans are guided by technologies based on artificial intelligence and algorithms. “So phrases that caught public fancy two decades ago may not work now.”
Dr Venu V., Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, said travel operators must equip themselves to address the “anxious traveller”, who needs reassurance as life is limping back to normalcy after the worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus.
“Trips will become increasingly personalised; people will travel in small groups to relatively smaller destinations. So the information provided to them should be authentic. Responsible tourism, which strives for sustainable nature and a stronger role of local communities, will gain vitality,” said the senior bureaucrat, who earlier served as Additional Chief Secretary, Kerala Tourism.
Noting that domestic tourism is going to be the bedrock of the sector after the pandemic, Hotelier Mr Sameer M.C said Covid-19 taught people the value of life in its broader sense.
“Several families have suddenly realised the necessity to keep a healthy work-life balance and the need to be connected with near and dear ones. There is an increasing tendency to take quick and short breaks,” pointed out the MD of Fortune Parks Hotel Ltd. “All the same, tourists want protected travel that guards them against any disease. So hygiene has become highly important,” he added.
Also, Read
WORLD TOURISM REMAINS AT A STANDSTILL
Watch on YouTube
