Stakeholders promote Sikkim Winter Carnival in Kolkata

GANGTOK, 16 Dec: Following the decision of the core committee meeting constituted to host the Sikkim Winter Carnival 2013, a delegation comprising of members of Tourism & Civil Aviation Department, Travel Agents Association of Sikkim [TAAS] and Sikkim Hotels and Restaurants Association [SHRA] organised a promotional meet on Sikkim Winter Carnival 2013 and future promotion of Sikkim in Kolkata on 14 December.
A press release informs that the event was organised by Tourism Department in coordination with TAAS and SHRA and a large number of invitees comprising government officials, travel writers, journalists, local television, photo journalists, tour operators, Confederation of Indian Industry, Indian Chamber of Commerce, etc were present.
Senior tour operator, Randip Khati gave a presentation on the Sikkim Winter Carnival, its main features, activities for tourists.
Overview of destinations in Sikkim, various activities like adventure, pilgrimage tourism, Eco & village tourism, etc was presented by TAAS president, Satish Bardewa. SHRA president in her address conveyed the greetings from the people of Sikkim to the gathering and announced 40% discount to tourists during the Festival at hotels in Sikkim on booking through local tour operators of the state, the release mentions. TAAS vice president, Jeetendra Lama gave an audio-visual presentation on Sikkim Tourism.
The Regional Director, Eastern Region, Ministry of Tourism, BB Mukherjee, who was also the chief guest of the function, appreciated the efforts of Sikkim’s Tourism Department for its initiatives on organising such festivals. He also offered all assistance and help to Sikkim Tourism in all print publications of “Incredible India” to highlight and further include comprehensive information on Sikkim covering more details on overall destinations & its updates of Sikkim. He has asked the TAAS president to follow up the matter with the Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism at New Delhi.
TAAS president, in his address, credited the Government of Sikkim and active stakeholders for the state’s achievements in tourism. He highlighted the various initiatives and achievements of the state. Mr Bardewa informed the gathering about the Chief Minister’s plan to build 100 different tourist destinations in Sikkim.
“We have chosen Kolkata as the venue since the State of Bengal has the most active explorers and Sikkim has always been a good host. Sikkim is also their nearest getaway holiday destination. It is not just the Sikkim Winter carnival 2013 but the future promotion of Sikkim that we are looking at with the support of Travel Agents Association of Bengal [TAAB]”, he said.
TAAB vice president, Kaushik Kaur in his address said that Bengal and Sikkim not only share a common gateway for tourists to the country’s Eastern region but also share a strong bond of friendship & brotherhood.
It was proposed that a meeting between TAAS & TAAB be organised to discuss common issues and future promotion of tourism in Sikkim. TAAB has also invited TAAS for a FAM trip to Sundarbans this winter, it is informed.
During an open house discussion, most of the invitees suggested that Sikkim Tourism should organise such a Carnival every year so that visitors can plan their schedule well in advance while tour operators can also market and publicise the event in their itinerary.
TAAS president has invited travel writers, photo journalists and tour operators from TAAB to the Sikkim Winter Carnival. It was also proposed that 20 tour operators from Malaysia want to visit Sikkim in January for the future promotion of Sikkim. TAAS assured that the same will be informed and submitted to the Minister and Secretary of Sikkim Tourism Department to coordinate the FAM trip as desired by the Malaysian tour operators.
Earlier, Assistant Director, Sikkim Tourism- Kolkata, Chewang Pulger, gave the welcome address.