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 They
came from all over the world, homing into one of the smaller,
greener, states of our land. They flew in from the USA, UK,
Germany, France, Belgium, China, Brunei and 34 other countries
drawn by the well-publicised charms of God’s Own Country.
And we, like the buyers from abroad, were amazed by the outstanding
success of the Kerala Travel Mart, (KTM) 2002. As senior travel
personality O P Ahuja told us, in the bustling Mart: “This
is the best in India. Its potential is great.”
The statistics are impressive. In the last KTM, the one held
in 2000, there were 632 buyers of which 384 were foreign;
this year the buyers went up to 632 with 491 from abroad.
In KTM 2000, the foreigners came from 32 countries; this year
that figure had jumped to 41. And, for the first time, neighbouring
states were permitted to participate. Though we were told
that there were five other states apart from Kerala, we saw
Karnataka appear as a major presence, Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh held a joint press conference in which they were represented
by their senior bureaucrats. We also spotted a Lakshadweep
stall but we missed the Andamans though those southern-most
parts of India had also registered. Pondicherry teamed up
with Karnataka.
Now for how it all began.For many years Kerala was not aware
of its high potential as an up-market tourist destination.
Then, we believe, the Malayalees who had returned from the
blazing desert sands of Arabia, had the money and the international
exposure to demand, and finance, a better lifestyle for themselves.
Assessing the natural wealth of their state, and the mosaic
of faiths and ethnic groups living in symbiotic harmony, they
realised that Kerala was tailor-made for the world’s
greatest industry: tourism. Out of this realisation was born
a concept to give a focus to, and a forum for, the development
of tourism. Prime movers and shakers in this radical process
were Jose Dominic of the Casino Group, E M Najeeb of the Great
India Tour Company and P D Joseph of Pioneer Travels from
the private sector. It was, however, the brain-child of creative
administrator Amitabh Kant, now joint secretary tourism at
the Center. The other IAS names that should figure in the
golden book of the KTM are Venu V and Alkesh Kumar. Kerala’s
current secretary tourism, T Balakrishnan, not only laid the
foundation for such private-public sector synergy, but he
and Alkesh Kumar are still overseeing the continued growth
of the KTM. Kerala has been particularly fortunate in having
a team of administrators who built on their predecessors’
successes: a very rare phenomenon in bureaucratic circles!
 Kerala
also mustered a strong political will. During the spectacular
inauguration, chief minister A K Antony said: “My government
has recognised the importance of this sector and has increased
the allocation for tourism by five-fold in the tenth five
year plan.”
We were, personally, very pleasantly surprised at the bustle
and the sense of dynamism that enlivened this Mart. There
were no drifters, free-loaders and loungers: everyone was
either selling or buying or interviewing and photographing
sellers and buyers. According to Babu Dominic, of the Casino
Group: “The response has been phenomenal. We have received
enquiries from the US, Australia, Thailand and South Korea.”
Anita Menon for Kumarakom Lake Resort felt that the number
of buyers from the USA, France and New Zealand marked a new
and encouraging trend. Marianne Podoyak, president of the
Arizona-based Monarch International enthused that it was ‘Fantastic!’
But this is only the beginning of what could be a great movement
in Indian tourism in which the states cut their umbilical
chords to the Centre. We’ll pose those critical questions,
and give our unorthodox suggestions, to the Kerala Travel
Mart Society’s CEO, Mathew Philip, in our next Point
Blank.
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