CM announces 50% exemption in licence and fee for tourism stakeholders

GANGTOK, 29 Sept: The Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today announced 50% tax exemption in licence and fee for those willing to work in the tourism sector. The CM was speaking at the World Tourism Day [WTD] celebrations held at Chintan Bhawan today.
“After the opening of the Pakyong Airport, next year the flow of tourists to the state will increase manifold and keeping this in mind we plan to make Sikkim a Conference Destination for the world”, he added. Sikkim will also be hosting the International Tourism Mart in 2014, he informed.
Speaking on this year’s WTD theme ‘Tourism and Water - Protecting our common future’, he said that only 2.5 percent water in the world is drinkable out of which only .5 per cent of water is available for drinking and this is the biggest problem for mankind in the world. People of Sikkim are very lucky as there is abundant water and thus Sikkim can be the water reservoir of the country and so people need to think and act responsibly regarding this, he added.
It is necessary for all tourism stakeholders to preserve water and make use of it judiciously and it is also necessary for people not to interfere with nature and the environment as this will disturb the ecological balance, he said.
“The use of chemicals and pesticides has turned the world into a dumping ground, but we take a pledge to make Sikkim a chemical and pesticide-free state to save nature and the environment. So each and every one needs to contribute to the implementation of this programme”, he stated.
Industrial growth came to Sikkim in the last 10 years, but the state is still far behind compared to the country and the world while the history of development of tourism in Sikkim is just 20 years old, he informed.
“In 1995, nobody knew about Sikkim and it was very tough to sell Sikkim as a tourist destination then, but 20 years down the line today Sikkim is in the limelight and this is all because of the hard work of the SDF government, which has worked to make and sell the image of the state as that of a clean, peaceful and developed state,” said the CM.
The economy of Sikkim is driven by local resources so there is a need to utilize available local resources and work towards balanced development for the progress of not only the people but also the state.
The CM congratulated all the tourism stakeholders for the development of tourism in the state, but added that there was still a lot to be done and learnt.
“The SDF government has made Sikkim a democratic dividend state and not a democratic deficit state like so many others in the country and the world”, he stated. The government plans to make 100 more tourists spots just like Chaar Dhaam, Samduptse, etc all over the state in the coming years, he informed.
The hard work of the present government has made Sikkim the 9th Most Developed State in the country and the 1st in the North East, 10th best state in the overall category and 5th in less poverty state with the highest employment of 52% in the country, he informed.
He also spoke of plans to develop mountain side and hill resorts, culinary, geo tourism, medical, wellness, heritage, religious and wildlife tourism [as killing of wildlife is only banned in Sikkim and nowhere else], amusement parks and malls to enhance tourism in the state.
Speaking on the suggestions and demands placed by the various tourism stakeholders, he stated that all of them will be looked into and discussed with the concerned agencies for further action.
The Chief Minister was also felicitated by the Tourism department and SAATO for his tireless efforts of promoting tourism in the state. Meanwhile, 20 people working in the tourism sector were presented the State Tourism Awards for their contribution towards promotion of tourism in the state.
Earlier, power-point presentations on various issues connected with tourism and water were shown by S Tambe [Special Secretary, RM&DD], while S Anbalagam [APD, SBFP] gave his presentation on ecotourism and sustainable livelihood. The presidents of TAAS, SH&RA and SAATO also made presentations on marketing of tourism products, conservation of water and adventure tourism in Sikkim, respectively.