Assam undertakes agent engagement

Assam Tourism, with the help of trade associations, recently conducted a workshop as well as a familiarisation tour for travel agents to inform them about new experiences and destinations in Assam. Around 14 travel agents participated in the tour. The Chief Guest of the workshop was Deba Kumar Misra, MD, Assam Tourism Development Corporation.

Hazel Jain

A workshop on community tourism and green protocols was held at the Shikdamakha Village of Umswai Valley in January 2021 by the Root Bridge Foundation in association with Assam Tourism.

The Umswai Valley, which is being promoted as a new tourism product in Assam, comprises many small villages and is inhabited by the Hill Tiwa tribes. This workshop was held under the Swacchata Action Plan in Shikdamakha, which has been recognised as the cleanest village of Assam. Also present at the event was Lunsing Teron, Executive Member, Tourism I/C, Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC).

The Chief Guest of the workshop was Deba Kumar Misra, Managing Director, Assam Tourism Development Corporation and Director, Directorate of Tourism, Assam Tourism. The Umswai Valley Tourism logo was also released during the inauguration.

The day-long workshop was divided into two sessions with Arijit Purkayastha, Chapter Chairman for North East, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), who said, “It is easy to develop a successful rural tourism destination while ensuring rural livelihood and we must strive towards creating this in the region.”

Shapna Medhi, Asst. Professor, Department of Tourism and Travel Management (B.Voc), Sonapur College, was also part of the session and spoke on the dos and don’ts of intercultural sensitivity in a rural tourist destination. The workshop was attended by the enthusiastic villagers of Shikdamakha and the neighbouring cluster of villages. The villagers also got to interact with the resource persons regarding the problems and prospects of tourism in the village.

Fam tour to Dikchak

Destination Dikchak is an initiative that was conceived with the objective of introducing community-based tourism (CBT) in Dikchak, an adopted village of Sonapur College in Assam.

A familiarisation tour was organised for the government as well as private tourism stakeholders of the state to highlight the potential of CBT in the village and the surrounding areas. The project, conceived by the Department of Tourism of Travel Management (B.Voc), Sonapur College, received extensive support from Indiatourism North East and the North East India Tour Operator Association (NEITO) headed by Hemanta Das, its President. Das explains, “Based on ecotourism principles, special care was taken to conduct the traditional activities in broad daylight to avoid using sound or light systems. The tour provided an opportunity to women to earn and motivated youngsters to revive traditional sports. The village can be an excellent stop for tourists on the way to Guwahati from Kaziranga or even for day excursions.” The occasion was inaugurated by Deba Kumar Mishra. Also present were members of NEITO, ADTOI and Tour Operators Association of Assam (TOAA).