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ECOTOURISM NEWS-2003jan
2003/2004
East lure for global Indian
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Tourism Week
begins today
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The local tourism
industry has decided to take off from where the government
left.
Much on the lines of the Teesta Tea Tourism Festival, a Joint
collaboration of 'the tourism departments of West Bengal,
Sikkim and Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council,
.......details
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Tourist trickling does braving the biting cold in the region,
could have something to cheer them up in the coming week.
The State tourism department
will observe a “tourism assistance week”, beginning tomorrow.
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.....details
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Tourists troop to pilgrim hotspots |
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While
away weekend in the wild |
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The dipping winter temperature turns three insignificant
pockets, in south and west Sikkim ‑ Borong, Ralong and
Phurchachu ‑ into the hottest, tourist destinations,
literally.
........details |
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Fasten
your seatbelts, keep your eyes peeled for tell-tale movements
and your cameras ready. A pleasure trip to Siliguri will be the
same again.
Targeting weekend tourists looking to unwind in the
forests, the West Bengal Tourism Corporation (WBTDC) has chalked
out a package that promises thrills galore
........details |
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Info lessons for tour agents |
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History, culture,
tradition, adventure, flora and fauna: take your pick and
trust our tour operators and agents of the hill state to have
all the information, answers and solutions.
Concerned over the growing number of complaints that travel
agents are not well informed, the Travel Agent Association of
Sikkim (TAAS)
........details |
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East lure for global Indian |
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..the local tour operators and
hoteliers have decided to start what will be kilo" as an East
Himalayan Festival.
The TTTF was held for three
consecutive years since 1998 during December and January,
after which the government withdrew its participation and the
event, fell through.
“After the event stopped, we
started getting mails from tourists across India and
abroad, who wanted to know what hapened to the fair. We
realised the ‑potentW of such an event and thought of starting
something similar, something that the tourists were looking
for," said Raj Basu, vice‑president of the Association for
Conservation and Tourism, the prime mover behind the idea,
which has roped in §ome 26 tour operators and hoteliers
of'north Bengal and Sikkim.
The idea is to sell the fair
to the NRI flock which has gathered at Delhi for the Pravasi
Bharatiya Diwas celebrations. The festival will begin at the
beginning of every, year on January .9 and continue till
February 8.
"There are many NRIs who
return home for new year celebrations. The timing of the fair
has been dovetailed with their arrival time. It would be great
if we could sell our tourists spots to them and lure them to
the majestic mountains and the green wealth of the plains,"
said Basu, also a tour operator.
"This time, the fair could not
be put in place on time, but we have managed to organise some
programmes to mark the start of the festival. Next year, with
better participation from the people, we are sure to feature
this festival in the international tourism calendar," Basu
said.
Rhythm of the
Mountains, a concert to be held on January 18 in the town,
will see Chitresh Das and his troupe from California perform
Kathak.
Sharing the stage with Das is
Paris‑based artist Sahabuddin who will paint in tune with the
dance rhythm.
The regular sight‑seeing
packages have been mixed with a liberal dose of adventure
sports like, trekking, rafting,
Rock climbing, wildlife tours
and the "newly‑developed" mountain biking and para-sailing.
These concepts have been
introduced especially for the foreign and NRI chunk.
The festival seeks not only to
hardsell the usual tourist spots of north Bengal but
also throw the spotlight on lesser-known places of beauty,
which often go unnoticed. "There am, a lot, of small places
which nature has touched with finesse, a wealth
that is unexploited. It is these spots of virgin beauty
nestled in the Hills and the Dooars, which the festival will
seek to promote," Basu said.
The
industry watchers feel the move will benefit the tourism
industry, which has been down‑in‑dumps
Source: January 10,2003,The Telegraph
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Tourism Week
begins today |
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“This is being observed to mark
International Tourism Foundation Day tomorrow. The objective f the
programme is to provide tourist with a hassle free transport service
and spread awareness among the public on tourist hospitality,” said
D.T. Lepcha, deputy director of tourism.
“We have sought the help of the
railways to set up a public address system at the new Jalpaiguri
railway station. We have also roped in some tourism students from
colleges, who will be posted at our tourism assistance booths at
Bagdogra airport and new Jalpaiguri railway station,” said Bina Roy,
assistant tourism officer.
“ Through the use of banners and
leaflets, we want to reach out to a larger numbers of people of that
tourists can fell at home.” She added.
Source: January 24,2003,The Telegraph |
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Info lessons for tour agents |
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had
started a three-day intermediate training programme to help them
know more about the hill state.
Started with
151 candidates at the Sikkim Nationalised Transport complex today by
the tourism minister K.T.Gyaltsen, the training programme will
fortify tourists guides, tour operators and tourism management
students with information on all that Sikkim has to offer.
To ensure
“hands-on” experience, the venues were selected keeping in mind the
topics of discussions.
While the
trainees headed for the Government Institute of Cottage Industries
to polish their knowledge of handloom and handicraft special to the
state, the lecture on flora and fauna at was delivered at the
Himalayan Zoological Park.
Other training venues are the Himalayan nursery at the 6th
mile and the Ipecac garden at Saramsa.
Experts have
been roped in to provide information on the various facets of
tourism in the state.
TAAS president Palzor Lachungpa told The Telegraph: “Before tourists
are shown round the state, it is necessary those in the tourism
trade know more about the history, culture, tradition and have sound
knowledge on the various places if interests in Sikkim. This will
not only help the tourists get a better understanding of the place
but also add professionalism to the trade.”
The workshop will be conducted under specific heads, like
“pilgrimage tourism based on Buddhism, cultural tourism, flora and
fauna, protection and conservation of the environment,” TAAS
officials said.
Discussions on
marketing strategies, lectures and demonstrations on camp sites and
garbage management, rescue operations and positive attitude will
also dealt with at length.
The tourism minister, in his address to the trainees, said that
since peace and tranquility were the main reasons for the large
inflow of tourists, this had to maintained and highlighted at all
costs.
He also said
the tour operators and guides should work towards building
discipline, quality service and perfect knowledge and information as
these were prerequisites to reinforce the state’s “tourist friendly”
image.
Source: January 24,2003,The Telegraph |
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Tourists troop to pilgrim hotspots |
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Fabled as cure for ailments ranging
from scabies to paralysis and arthritis, the three chachu (Bhutia
for, hot spring) draw droves of believers not only from the Hill
State, but also from Bhutan and Nepal.
Thanks to the tourism campaigns,
the hot springs are now just as popular with tourists. With the
area, which Is a stone's throwaway front Ravangla, growing in
popularity among picnickers and weekend travellers, cottages have
sprouted all over to cash in on, the winter bonanza,, offering rooms
for as less as Rs 50.
Tents and other makeshift shelters
have also come up in the vichdO on the hot springs to accommodate
the late arrivals.
The sulphur spring‑pits, located on
the banks‑of the Rangit river, are accessible only in the peak of
winter when the water level is at its lowest The post w, inter
snowmelt submerges the pits for the rest of the year.
Phurchachu in West Sikkim, a
pleasant trek from the roadhead is also exalted in folklore as
having one of the four holy caves in the state where Guru Padmasambava
the saint who Weed Buddhism in Sikkim and Tibet, had lived and
meditated some time in the seventh century.
Ralong and Borong (known as the
hottest), which can be reached only after an arduous trek to the
riverbed, are, however, still primarily reserved for the fittest
of the religiously inclined.
. Tshering Dorjee, a local from
North Sikkim, who had come all the way to Phur‑chachu, like each
year for the last. decade, said: "Men and women take turns every
hour, throughout the day and night to bathe in the geysers ant
cleanse their bodies and soul."
Source: January 10,2003,The Telegraph |
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While away weekend in the wild
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Beginning next weekend, Phuentsholing
goes off the travel itinerary. So does a large chunk of metalled
road travel.
“It is an effort to make the tour more forest-oriented
and give visitors an up close and personal look at nature,” said
Subrate Sengupta, WBYDC operational manager (North).
The package will begin with a deceptively casual jungle walk through
Sevoke Forest. Then to Lataguri Nature Interpretation Centre through
the Apalchand Elephant Corridor for some technical jungle facts,
followed by a 10-kilometre drive through dense forests to the
Gorumara National Park.
“Even here, instead of the conventional route, the entourage takes
the Moorti-Nagrakatta route,” Sengupta said.
Come night, and the tourists will head for the comfort of the
Hollong resort.
Sunday will begin at the crack of dawn with an elephant safari
through rhino territory at Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary. Then
follows a stopover at the Madarihat Nature Interpretation Centre for
more facts on the endemic flora and fauna. The circuit will be
Madarihat Leopard Rescue Centre.
But there is more in store for the visitors.
“Tourists will also be taken to the Kunjanagar eco-tourism park,
which is being developed as a Gharial breeding centre,” Sengupta
said.
“On the way back to Siliguri, a drop at the Jalpesh Temple has been
arranged for, to add a religious flavour,"”had added.
The wild weekend package will not burn a hole in the pocket either.
The price has been pegged at Rs 2,050 per person, inclusive of all
meals.
The WBTDC operational manger, Sengupta said the tours were aimed at
educating tourists regarding the importance of conserving nature.
Tourism authorities are hopeful that the tourist inflow will help in
the development of the region. “We will work to promote the places
and products on offer, “Sengupta said.
Source:
April 16,2004, The Telegraph
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