Arunachal CM seeks active private sector participation to bolster tourism in border villages, ET TravelWorld

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has sought active private sector participation in promoting tourism in border areas of the state so that the real benefits of tourism reached the people and bolster the local economy. He said this while addressing the ATOAI conference delegates in Tawang.

The 16th edition of ATOAI Convention has kickstarted in Tawang where around 200 delegates will participate in the 5-day conference.

Appreciating the decision of ATOAI leadership to bring the conference to the state, CM Khandu expressed the hope that the conference outcome will provide a new direction to the state’s tourism.

On the private sector participation, CM said that while the govt can make investments in building the infrastructure, know how has to come from the private sector so as to make the capacity really holds and the tourism really benefits and excels from that.

He said that state is in the process of engaging world-renowned architects in this connection.

He also lauded the vibrant village programme of government of India and appreciated the decision of the Indian Army to pilot the scheme in Arunachal border villages.

Talking about the growth path the state envisages in tourism, the CM said that high footfalls do not usually convert into revenues for the state. In that context adventure tourism is ideal for Arunachal as its low footprint and high in terms of value to the local economy.

Talking about the uniqueness of Arunachal, Khandu said that the state is the largest in geographical size and strategic as it shares border with three neighboring countries. He said that the state is culturally rich with 26vmajor tribes and 100 subtribes.Speaking on the occasion, Pasang D Sona, Tourism minister of Arunachal Pradesh also suggested expansion of successful PPP models that the government has implemented in various other sectors like horticulture, education etc into tourism so that it takes a collective model of development.

In his welcome address, Ajeet Bajaj, President, ATOAI stressed on the incredible opportunities lying ahead for the country in adventure tourism. While in other countries, adventure tourism is all about body and mind experience, India adds another element of soul to it. He said that the vision of the association is to turn India into a preferred adventure tourism destination of the world, it is critical to have high standards of safety and security code in place for the country.

He welcomed the two trekking trails identified by government – western Himalayan trekking trails and Ganga Nature and heritage trail – and proposed more such trails like Trans Himalayan trail to put India on the global adventure tourism map.