Tourism monitoring committee formed to check against malpractices

TOURISM DEPTT MADE SOLE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE NATHULA TOURIST PASSES
GANGTOK, 06 July: The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation will now be the sole authority for issuance of permits to the tourists wishing to visit Nathula. Besides, a high powered Monitoring Committee headed by the Chief Secretary is also being constituted by the State Government to check fleecing of tourists by unscrupulous elements.

Tourism Secretary, Mrs. N Yethenpa, informs that the Department was taking on the sole responsibility of issuing tourist passes for Nathula  in light of the increasing numbers of Nathula-bound tourists and in a move towards bringing fair practice within the tourism industry and avoiding any harassment to visiting tourists.
She informed that all quotas earlier awarded to Travel Agents Association of Sikkim, Sikkim Association of Adventure Tour Operators and others, for issuance of Nathula permits will be withdrawn under this new policy of the Department.
Mrs. Yethenpa further informed that the Government was setting up a Monitoring Committee with the Chief Secretary as its Chairman, and including representatives from all concerned departments related to tourism, shortly.
The Committee, aimed to prevent fleecing of tourists, will be monitoring the room tariff of the hotels along with charges for transportation and the activities of tour operators as a whole, she said.
She expressed satisfaction at the level of cooperation the Department received from the BRO towards ensuring safe passage for tourists during monsoons and frequent slides on the JN Road leading to Tsomgo, Baba Mandir and the Nathula.