Overview
- The Jan 6–8 conference is being held at the 18th-century Bolgatty Palace, organised by the Muziris Heritage Project with the Kerala Tourism Department.
- Tourism Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas announced an International Spice Routes Heritage Network to support collaborative research, conservation and museum development.
- Around 38 delegates from 22 countries joined Indian participants for panels on the movement of people, goods and ideas along the spice routes.
- Kerala Tourism Director Sikha Surendran called for viewing the routes as living, community-rooted networks guiding ethical, experiential travel.
- Scholars highlighted Muziris’s hub role and the Malabar pepper trade’s reach, alongside Kochi’s consolidation as a colonial port through early 20th‑century trade accords.