KTM Society hails decision to exempt tourism sector from

Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) Society hailed as "exemplary" the decision by political parties and trade unions to exempt the state's tourism sector from Wednesdays general strike. Expressing gratitude for the announcement, KTM President Baby Mathew Somatheeram and Media Wing Convener Abraham George said the decision was a token of recognition of the contributions of Kerala's tourism towards the state's economic development and goodwill promotion.

They noted that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had while addressing the 2016 KTM conference, proposed to exempt the state's tourism from hartals. The "progressive" decision to spare the sector from the January 8 all-India strike is the latest in the achievements towards that aim, they said.

"We owe our thanks and indebtedness to political parties and trade unions for the matter," the officials added. The society founded in 2000, the biggest tourism body of Kerala, conducts the biennial KTM that hosts the country's largest buyer-seller meet in the tourism segment..