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| October 11, 2009 | Sikkim seeks to promote tourism potential in global market | | Gangtok:
Defined as a mystical kaleidoscope of nature’s garden, Sikkim is
increasingly fascinating tourists from different parts of the country and abroad.
According to the State tourism department, around 208,000 tourists visited Sikkim
in the first five months of 2009, which was an increase of nearly 35 per cent
over the previous year. In a bid to attract tourists, Sikkim Government has declared
the year 2010 as ‘the Year of Tourism’ and has lined up as many as 13 festivals
to develop the tourism industry. The Sikkim Government is also undertaking various
steps to draw maximum international tourists. The State Govt. is presently trying
to promote tourism with Thailand through the commonality that exists in their
cultures and traditions as both encompass the Buddhist heritage. “At present not
so many people in Thailand know about Sikkim . Mostly because its one of the remotest
state in India, but I’m sure once the infrastructure is in place for example the
airport, roads, I think more people from Thailand will come to Sikkim, especially
people who are interested in Buddhism because most of the Thais and Sikimese are
Buddhist. We have a number of Buddhist tourists coming to India every year. I
think Sikkim would be another destination for them,” said Parinthorn Apinyanunt,
First Secretary, Royal Thai Embassy. “Compared to last year this year’s tourists
inflow is good, even the bookings are also good. They prefer to come here for
summer vacation which is not so in the past years. Since 1992 Sikkim has come
as a main focus. The main attraction are its natural beauty, green forest, falls,
rivers, streams, mountains, peaks and people love to see such things,” said Deepak
Kumar Rai, a local tour operator in Sikkim During 2007-08, the Central Government
sanctioned an amount of rupees 5.8 crores for Sikkim ’s tourism infrastructural
projects. In 2009, the Centre funded 12 projects as Centrally Sponsored Schemes
from Ministry of Tourism with six projects for Border Area Development Programme
(BADP). The State government has also funded a tourism project. “We like to visit
places and we find Sikkim a very beautiful place very need, clean and lovely,
very scenic. You can almost compare it with one of the city in Europe . The greenery
is wonderful, cleanliness is good, and people too are nice. The city park that
I saw in MG road was simply breath-taking,” said Dastoor, a tourist from Mumbai.
Widely known for the grandeur of mountain peaks, lush valleys, adventure sports
and various lively festivals, the northeast State of the country has plenty to
offer to its visitors. | |
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