Visit Sikkim

Editorial -
Sikkim’s tourism graph has been on a consistent upward swing in the past two decades, save the 2011 Earthquake spoilsport which, well, spoiled about a season and a half. On the average though, Sikkim has grown substantially from a destination that people stumbled upon when left with free days on an itinerary for Darjeeling. Sikkim has now been a stand-alone destination with its own clientele and with a whole array of tourist spots, most  with their own niche clienteles. This has been a praiseworthy transition and those in the travel trade should pat themselves on the back. What one cannot lose sight of here is that there were many outside factors which led to Sikkim’s growth as a tourist destination. The turmoil in the neighbouring Darjeeling hills and Sikkim’s presence as a ready alternative, the closing down of Jammu & Kashmir for tourist traffic, the congestion on other tourist destinations like Nepal [which also had Maoist trouble] and Himachal Pradesh and the ever inquisitive zeal of inveterate travellers to seek out new destinations; all these are the real factors which contributed to the tourism boom in Sikkim. As far as professional packaging goes, Sikkim has still more to learn and implement. In the age of marketing, for instance, Sikkim has still not worked out that one element of the Sikkim experience that it wants to promote and sell. No event/ destination/ experience is yet synonymous with Sikkim when every tourist destination has at least one special week in the year when tourists know they are assured of a special treat. And it is not as if Sikkim does not have enough events happening which would excite tourists. But it has wasted most of the events with unprofessional planning and bureaucratic organization, so much so that most ‘tourist festivals’ are not even organized anymore. The traditional events and occasions have also lacked coherent projections and still await professional packaging. Tourist festivals, even when they are held, are hastily put together. These are not events that are targeted to attract only locals. But if it is tourists that the organizers seek, then the events should e worked out much more in advance and publicised widely giving prospective visitors enough time to plan their vacations. Even when flawlessly planned, tourist festivals take several years to become mega-events as word of mouth and mass media publicity catches on. And it is not even as if tourist festivals are necessary. Sikkim, with its Khangchendzonga, Buddhist heritage, new pilgrimage destinations like the Char Dham, border trade haat, lakes and trekking routes is already cast in the perfect foil for a tourist destination of much bigger potential than what it receives at present.