BOMDILA, 28 Jul: More than 140 tourism stakeholders of West Kameng district, including hotel, homestay, restaurant, and transport owners, participated in a training programme organised by the tourism department here on Friday.
Themed ‘Destination management through upskilling and responsible practices’, the programme was aimed at upgrading the tourism sector of the district.
After the programme was inaugurated by Bomdila ADC Sang Khandu, District Tourism Officer Tracy Wangmo said that “West Kameng has huge potential in the tourism sector and could be the face of Arunachal Tourism,” and added that “whenever a tourist plans to visit Arunachal Pradesh, West Kameng is the most preferred destination for them.”
Tourism Deputy Director Manna Bengia Sonam said that the training programme was aimed at “taking old destinations to new heights through responsible practices by stakeholders.”
Rural Tourism & Homestays adviser Raj Basu stressed on “sustainable development of tourist destinations through responsible practices by tourism stakeholders.”
Kumar Anubhav dwelt on the practical side of different tourism activities and how they can be made more responsible by incorporating certain innovations, while Sumyadeep Datta spoke about biodiversity and tourism, emphasising on “the importance of natural heritage for communities and their identity.”
Nilima Tamang and Vishal Gurung from the Association for Conservation & Tourism spoke on the issue of waste, and practically demonstrated ‘waste to wealth’ and ‘bio-enzymes’ as alternatives for detergents and cleansing materials.
Soumitra Kar of the SFCI spoke on housekeeping and table layouts.
The tourism department also organised an orientation programme at the Shanti Deva Vidyalaya here to establish a ‘yuva tourism club’, during which Bomdila DTO TW Thongdok apprised the students of the objectives and roles of yuva tourism clubs. (DIPRO)
