It will be different

The tourism sector has demanded that a Gorkhaland Tourism Board be set up along with an advisory committee made up of the stakeholders of the travel industry, representatives from the yet-to-be-formed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the state government.

Stakeholders of the tourism industry, who are keen to develop a comprehensive circuit of the Darjeeling-Sikkim-Dooars zone, alleged that the DGHC had done little to develop the infrastructure of the hills and the hope now lay on the GTA.

“Our immediate demand is the formation of the GTA, which should have participation of stakeholders for creation of tourism infrastructure in Darjeeling and work for promotion of the region,” said Raj Basu, a veteran in the tourism industry in the east and the Northeast. “The board should have a monitoring or advisory committee consisting of representatives of stakeholders, GTA and the state government to carry out tasks jointly and in co-ordination with other departments.”

Basu said issues like bad roads, inadequate water supply, parking problems and encroachments along the toy train route should be given priority to make Darjeeling a better destination for tourists.Suresh Periwal, who is associated with the tourism industry for the past 43 years, said the tourism department of the DGHC had failed miserably.

“The DGHC tourism department could create only Rock Gardens (a tourist spot in Darjeeling) and some accommodations. The representatives or officials never consulted any of us for the betterment of Darjeeling and other hill destinations and failed to implement projects,” he said.

Since around 70 per cent of the population of Darjeeling is dependant on tourism and there is still ample scope to generate employment, the new body (GTA) should give a fresh impetus to this sector, he said. “As a beginning, they should form a board and a committee which can advise, monitor and help implement infrastructure schemes,” Periwal said.The stakeholders want the GTA to be in sync with the state tourism departments of Bengal and Sikkim and the Union ministry as well.

“It is important to maintain this synchronisation to built the complete circuit of Darjeeling-Sikkim-Dooars. These days, tourists come to visit an entire circuit and not just one or two destinations,” said Samrat Sanyal, the president of Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators’ Association.

“This sync was absent in the hills so long with no connections between these departments and agencies to facilitate tourist movement, arrange their accommodations and plan their itineraries. The tourism board that we are asking for should work on this issue and end isolated development of destinations.

Similar tourism boards function in countries like Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore and China and have proved to be an effective tool in augmenting the scale of tourism.”Sanyal said the GTA was also expected to create alternative destinations and improve some existing but lesser-known ones to ease the pressure on Darjeeling.

Source - telegraphindia.