Local tourism society gears up for All India Promotion Campaign

Gangtok, Oct 15 (UNI) The Sikkim Tourism Cooperative Society Ltd (STCSL), a local tourism society, is gearing up for a 101-day expedition across 26 states and five Union Territories of the country for the promotion of Sikkim tourism.

STCSL sources said here today the ''101-day All India Overland Cross Country Expedition'' by road would be undertaken by a group of local tourism graduates and other tourism stakeholders.

STCSL president Kishore Kharka said the promotional expedition would be flagged off from Gangtok on November 27 and continue upto March six next year, covering a distance of about 20,843 km by road.

To reach out to the entire population of the country, the expedition team would organise road shows across 44 cities with a view to create mass awareness about Sikkim as a tourist destination.

''We will also provide complete information on various destinations of the state and personally invite all the people of the nation to visit Sikkim, which will create potential demand and motivation,'' Mr Kharka said.

Another strategy of the expedition would be to organise ''Product Orientation Programme'' with travel agents and tour operators in all major tourist-generating markets of India.

During the campaign, the team will also strive to establish proper distribution channels and convenient points of sales in all the states and Union Territories for easy access to Sikkim, Mr Kharka said.

Claiming that this promotion was the first of its kind in the country, the society said the expedition would address the fluctuating tourist season in the state.

Despite abundance of tourism resources and favourable tourism environment, Sikkim accounts for a mere 0.4 per cent of the total volume of inbound tourists that travel throughout the country every year, the society said.

Domestic tourism is also split between the two peak seasons of two and half months each while the volume of tourism in the state is almost nil, the society said.

Hence, the expedition was being launched to generate constant flow of tourists throughout the year and increase the number of inbound tourists, the society said.

UNI