Kochi, Sep 10 (IANS): The eighth edition of Kerala Tourism's flagship Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) beginning here from Sep 18 is expected to boost the state as a wedding destination, organisers said here Wednesday.

KTM 2014 will be held here Sep 18-20 at the Samudrika Convention Centre of the Cochin Port Trust located at the cruise terminal, Willingdon Island, overlooking the backwaters.

"Certain to attract attention will be the various wedding themes and also the village life that will be recreated which will give a charming view of the countryside of Kerala. The food court will present Kerala cuisine at its best. The Mart will boost Kerala as a wedding destination", Abraham George, president of KTM Society, told reporters here.

He said 282 international buyers and 938 domestic buyers will be arriving to take part in the KTM.

This time all the appointments will be through a new software that the KTM has launched. It will connect the buyers and sellers in fixing appointments with one another. The buyers could view the list of sellers and request for appointments online. Likewise the sellers could also view the buyers and go ahead with appointments.

Britain, Spain, Germany, France and Russia top the list of international buyers.

A noteworthy feature of this KTM edition is the participation from relatively new markets like Australia, South Africa, Malaysia and a strong presence from Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America,

The post-mart tours to seven different circuits have been another major highlight of the KTM with most of the tours already booked to capacity where buyers are taken to different destinations for a true feel of Kerala.