Kerala is exploring the markets of Punjab and Chandigarh to woo tourists to ‘God’s Own Country’.
“Chandigarh and Punjab are unexplored markets. This is one of the most potential region where many rich people reside who really love to spend money and to travel places. To capitalise on this fact, we are significantly focusing on this area,” Kerala tourism department deputy director Suresh Kumar said.
“We already have an established market base in big cities like Mumbai, Pune and Delhi, so now we can easily divert our attention towards Punjab and Chandigarh. Our idea is to offer tourists best tour plans at economical rates.”
Kumar, along with 32 travel agents from Kerala, came to this city to promote tourism prospects of Kerala and to establish links with local travel agents in Chandigarh.
As per official records, 5.98 lakh foreign tourists and 76.91 lakh domestic tourists visited Kerala in 2009.
Kumar said they are expecting 15 percent increase in both domestic and foreign tourists this year.
“Tourism business is booming in Kerala. This tour is very important for us as a huge chunk of tourists are coming from Chandigarh, Punjab and other north Indian states,” A.V.R. Srinivasan, general manager of Siena Village, a resort in Munnar, Kerala added.
The Vice President of India H.E. Mohammad Hamid Ansari today inaugurated the internationally acclaimed annual Surajkund Crafts Mela at Surajkund near New Delhi.
The Governor of Haryana, Jagannath Pahadia, Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Union Minister for Tourism, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja and Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, with several other dignitaries, were also present on the occasion.
The 15-Day Mela has participating craftsmen with exquisite talents not only from the length and breadth of the Country, but even from countries like Tajikistan, Thailand and Egypt besides the neighbouring SAARC Nations. State of Rajasthan is the theme State this time.
One of the main objectives of this Mela is to project the sensitivity of the rich Indian art, culture, music and folk art under one single banner and at one single venue for the benefit of its visitors besides providing the young generation an opportunity to have a first hand feel of the extraordinary variety of the tradition and rural ambience that happens to be the hallmark of our country.
It would be a bonanza for the foreign and domestic tourists in educating themselves about the diversity of Indian traditions and culture besides enjoying the vibrant ambiance created typically to represent the entire ethos of rural India in miniature. The Mela also offers the participating craftsmen a direct opportunity and exposure to market their products to the end users.
Organized primarily under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Tourism, the Mela is a collective and concerted effort of agencies like Development Commissioners of Handicrafts, Handlooms and Union Ministries of Culture and External Affairs, Haryana Tourism and the Tourism Department of the theme State as they jointly conduct and coordinate the arrangements of the Mela.
The best amongst the craftsmen and folk artists converge from across the country along with their products and skills populating this 15-day long jamboree of Indian traditional art, culture and tradition. The Mela happens to be one amongst the most important and popular event in the annual national calendar organised in and around Delhi. The number of visitors that stood at over 7 lakhs last year is expected to increase substantially this time.
This year a high level team of Sri Lanka consisting of 25 persons is visiting Surajkund Crafts Mela to study the aspects of its conduct in totality with a view to replicate it.
More than 400 craftsmen sponsored by Development Commissioners Handicrafts and Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, Rajasthan Government and other organisations of international repute have started reaching the venue to setup their exhibition cum sale counters within the Mela area.
The Goa government has clarified that no diktat or guideline has been issued banning bikinis from the beaches. But the government, in a bid to promote family tourism and stung by the spate of crimes against women, has already ordered scrapping all advertisements displaying bikini babes’ saying that wrong perception of the pictures was leading to Goa being tagged as a sex tourism destination.
Officials clarified that no official of the tourism department had many any statement indicating a ban was in the offing.
But earlier this month the government had moved to correct perceptions. “Goa is a family holiday destination and not a sex tourism destination. We will make sure that bikini babes do not symbolize Goa tourism,” state tourism minister Francisco Mickky Pacheco had said.
The tourism department asked all empanelled advertising agencies to refrain from showing scantily clad women in their advertisement campaigns.
“This is already being implemented. Further directives are being issued to reinforce the decision by the tourism ministry,” said tourism director Swapnil Naik. (News Source: Times of India)
Endowed with spectacular scenic beauty, Sikkim is harnessing its natural bounty for sustainable development through village tourism.
Sikkim is considered as one of the most peaceful and fastest developing states of Northeast India.
In a bid to further develop its economy, the first Winter Village Festival was held at Assam Lingzey village in Gangtok with the aim of promoting Village tourism to boost its revenue generation mechanism.
During the festival, villagers of the area got an opportunity to exhibit their products and resources besides presenting the unique traditions and distinctive cultural features of the Sikkimese society to the visitors.
“We want to introduce eco-friendly tourist spots. We will be able to supply organic based products. Once we start working in this sector, we will be able to encourage local people in tourism sector.” Amrit Rai, member, organizing committee, Winter Village Fest.
Different government departments, self-help groups, NGOs and Panchayat units set up around 32 stalls that showcased traditional Sikkimese food, exotic flowers and crafts of the state.
The main attractions of the event were Adventure sports like rock climbing and cultural shows.
“This type of programme will definitely attract tourists from outside. They will get the benefit of knowing new traditions, cultures and people of different types. We can interact,” said Kamala Rai, a local.
The Sikkim Government is aiming to build more traditional houses in model villages with suitable modern amenities so that tourist can experience the rural lifestyle of the state. (New Source: OneIndia online)
Egyptian envoy Mohamed Higazy has said that India is a country with which Egypt shares cultural synergies and affinities that go far back in history and this had prompted the launch here of a new tourism campaign.
Higazy was speaking at a function to launch a new brand campaign for the Egypt Tourism Authority along with a logo.
“It is for this reason that we are launching our new campaign and logo here. We want more and more Indians to visit Egypt and experience for themselves the warm hospitality of Egypt, something for which both India and Egypt are fabled,” he said.
The new campaign was launched by Egypt’s brand ambassador and Indian film actress Celina Jaitley on Friday evening. There was also a performance of an Egyptian belly dance at the launch organized at a five-star hotel.
According to Egyptian Tourism Authority director Adel El Masry the new campaign signified that Egypt was not only the origin of a great civilization, but helped in shaping global culture.
“The campaign brings alive the rarity and exotica, the mystique and the modern of this fabled land that offers the widest diversification of tourism all in one place,” he added.
