THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan will inaugurate the first edition of South India’s prestigious travel expo Global Travel Market (GTM 2023) at Kovalam, near here on September 27.
Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas will preside over the inaugural function of the four-day event at The Leela Kovalam, a Raviz Hotel, at 5 pm. Dr V Venu, Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, will deliver the keynote address on the occasion.
Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai will inaugurate the Seminar Sessions on 27th September at 6:30 pm. The seminar sessions will deliberate on various topics on the theme ‘Experience the Essence of South India: Where Culture Meets Nature’.
GTM 2023, an annual B2B travel and trade exhibition, is organised by South Kerala Hoteliers Forum (SKHF), Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industries (TCCI), Tavas Ventures, and Metro Media.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan will inaugurate the travel and trade exhibition of GTM 2023 at Travancore International Convention Centre, Greenfield International Stadium, Karyavattom, on September 28.
“The event will witness the convergence of global stakeholders and scores of new business partnerships are expected to be inked by them. The expo will focus on the South Indian tourism sector,” GTM CEO Siji Nair told a press conference today.
Nair said GTM will provide plenty of new opportunities that will enable the stakeholders to avail the best of the travel and tourism industry.
“More than 1000 trade visitors, 600 plus domestic and 100 international tour operators, and 100 plus corporate buyers will attend the summit. GTM will set a platform for the stakeholders to launch new products, network with key decision-makers, increase brand awareness and gather market intelligence,” he added.
GTM Chief Coordinator Prasad Manjali said most of the buyers are visiting Kerala for the first time and there will be presentations from different countries. “The expo will open for the public for free on 30 September, giving them opportunities to avail exciting tour options for the upcoming festival and holiday season,” he said.
For more details, visit: www.gtmt.in.
TCCI President Reghuchandran Nair, SKHF President Sudeish Kumar, SKHF Vice President MR Narayanan; Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industries (CKTI) President, EM Najeeb and General Secretary, Kerala Tourism Development Association, Kottukal Krishnakumar, were also present.
A familiarization tour will be organised on 30 September to introduce the delegates to riveting tourist attractions like Jatayu Earth Centre, Ashtamudi Lake, Poovar, Thiruvananthapuram city, Varkala and Kovalam.
The event will have 200 plus stalls put up by major hoteliers and resorts, tourism boards and organisations, airlines, travel agents, tour operators and travel tech innovators.
Also, pavilions featuring six themes including inbound travel to Kerala, outbound travel operators (both B2B and B2C), Ayurveda, yoga and wellness, resorts, retreats and hospitals, wedding tourism, corporate conclaves, homestays and serviced villas will be set up at the travel expo.
Apart from business meets, seminars will be held on all three days wherein experts from the travel industry will deliberate on a wide range of topics related to the travel and tourism sector with a global perspective. Corporate networking sessions with representatives of various companies will be featured on 29 September whereas, B2B sessions are scheduled on 28 and 29 September.
The expo will be open for the public to visit on 30 September.
