‘100 new tourism destinations in next 5 years’: Kerala Travel Mart 2026 to bring international buyers to Kochi from Sep 24-27

“Even though the world is facing a war crisis, Kerala was still able to attract 800 international and 2,250 domestic buyers to the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM)," Kerala tourism minister P.C. Vishnunadh told the media on September 18.

The 13th edition of the KTM is scheduled to be held from September 24 to 27 at Kochi, with Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan to inaugurate the flagship tourism and business event.

“We are planning to have 100 new tourist destinations in the next five years. We will achieve this mark by completing 20 destinations every year,” the minister said, about the state government's plan to tap into the growing international tourism in the state.

Further, he stated that the government has 2-3 locations in mind for a film city, on which construction will begin within the next six months.

The KTM is a biennial event which was first introduced in 2000. The state government uses it for collaboration and global outreach for its tourism sector.

“Wellness, ayurveda, experiential tourism, and cultural heritage centres, alongside our traditional tourism products, would be further enhanced, to introduce it in international markets," he added. The minister also noted that Kerala has emerged as a hub for destination weddings.

The KTM will include around 50,000 business-to-business (B2B) meetings.

“Through these B2B meets, the state plans to increase our footfalls, bring in more infrastructure, and improve our tourism infrastructure," Vishnunadh explained.

“This surely will help in the growth of our tourism sector in the coming years."

The government plans to increase the scale of investment, trade, and marketing opportunities for the tourism sector through these B2B meetings. There is also a significant increase in the participation of tourism enterprises and institutions with 383 sellers having completed stall bookings, according to a KTM press release.

Apart from B2B meets, tourism policymakers will also engage in sector-specific panel discussions.

“We do not believe that we are doing the best, therefore it is important for us to learn about the best practices at the global level through deliberations."

Vishnunadh also stated that post-KTM tours will be organised across 12 different regions of Kerala from September 28 to October 3 for international buyers.

“We consider it as an opportunity to introduce our tourism products to them.”