Campaign brings tourism high

Siliguri, March 19: Sceptics still call it the Maoist effect, but tour operators attribute last year's flood of foreign tourists to the Incredible India campaign of the tourism ministry.

The number of foreigners visiting the region has almost doubled this year and tour operators and hotel owners found it difficult to accommodate the rush tourists even during the usually long and lean winter.

`We do not have with us the exact figures, but the inflow of foreign tourists to this region has almost doubled this year. More than anything else, we believe it was the impact of the Incredible India campaign started by the union tourism ministry some two years ago, ` said the coordinator of a Tour Operators' Association.

Incredible India campaign, on the lines of Amazing Thailand and Roaring Singapore campaigns, has been awarded gold for its exceptional achievement in the Marketing of Destination category by the Pacific Asia Travel Authority (PATA). The announcement was made on February 21 and the award will be handed over to the tourism ministry in April at PATA's 53rd annual conference in Cheju island, South Korea. The campaign put this region on the world tourism map. What should have ideally been a lean season beginning in the second week of December, turned out to be a boom time with foreigners coming in droves,` said the coordinator a Tour Operators Association.

`The campaign brought about a 23 per cent growth in foreign tourists, skyrocketing the country into top five international tourist destinations, `he added.

Though the region had seen a poor foreign tourist turnout owing to the SARS scare and Iraq war, domestic visitors more than made up for the loss. `The Maoist insurgency in Nepal has also played a role in bringing tourists to this region. Nepal, Darjeeling and Sikkim once used to be part of the same package offered to foreigners visiting this part of the country. Now visitors spend more time here,` said the secretary of the tour operators' association.

`Even tour operators of Nepal are marketing tour packages for north Bengal and Sikkim, along with Bhutan. Several promotional activities organised during the lean season also helped bring more domestic tourists,` he added.

The region witnessed a a surge of Buddhist religious tourists after the statue of Guru Padmasambhava was inaugurated at Samdruptse.

`Religious tourists from Hong Kong, Singapore and several European countries came in large numbers in January to witness the unveiling of the statue at Samdruptse,` said the coordinator.

Courtesy
The Telegraph

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