The Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) has reached an understanding with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a contemporary art show, aimed at promoting a symbiotic relationship that could lend synergy to cultural tourism in the state.A press release from KTM, which showcases Kerala as Asia's new-age destination and India's tourism brand, said it would it chip in sponsorship to the ongoingbiennale.
KTM members, who chiefly include hotels, tour operators, resorts, Ayurvedic spas, homestays and houseboats, will extend support to the biennale by enrolling under its ‘Sponsor A Day’ scheme, according to hospitality industrialist Jose Dominic, who is also a trustee with the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) which is organising the three-month festival.
“The biennale has helped Kochi get spotted on the art tourism map of the world. The event merits support from us in a big way, given that it is benefiting the tourism and hospitality sectors of Kerala,” Mr Dominic, who is managing director and CEO of the Casino Group of Hotels, said.
Temple Based Installation Displayed in Muziris Biennale
The KTM members, who join the ‘Sponsor A Day’ scheme, will arrange special facilities for their guests to visit the biennale venues across this city, he said.The KBF described the tie-up as recognition to its efforts to promote art. “KTM is a get-together of people working for the promotion of tourism in Kerala. Their working in tandem with our event will naturally act as an advertisement for the biennale for people far and wide,” said KBF president Bose Krishnamachari, a well-known Mumbai-based Malayali artist and co-curator of the event here.
The KTM, which began in 2000, held its latest edition in September last year and is slated to hold the next in the same month in 2014. Soon after its conclusion, the second edition of the biennale would be held.
Stalls arranged in KTM
The KTM noted that there has of late been a surge in art-curious tourists. “That way, an event like thebiennale can help the economy of not just Kerala, but the entire country,” Mr Dominic said. “Like Venice and Paris, which are known for their heritage value as well, Kochi can very well be projected as a similar destination.”The 2014 edition of the KTM, he added, would strive for the promotion of tourists who are driven by a quest to know more about the culture of Kochi and Kerala.
The seventh edition of the KTM, which was held in this city four months ago, provided tourists with facilities like conducted trips to high-interest destinations. The joined endeavour, which is the only tourism event in the subcontinent that brings together the business fraternity and entrepreneurs behind the tourism products and services of Kerala, has already proved beneficial to the state’s economy, the release added.
Source: http://netindian.in/news/2013/01/11/00022768/kerala-travel-mart-ties-kochi-muziris-biennale-promote-sponsorship
