Eco-tourism is the catchword

Nature-based explorations are drawing North Bengal’s enlightened middle-class. Swaati Chaudhury reports

IF are one of those with a knack for eco-tourism or running eco-tourist lodges or cottages in North Bengal, then this piece of information is for you. Help Tourism, a Siliguri-based environmental outfit that has been working on its vision to promote eco-tourism and community tourism programmes in North Bengal and North-eastern region of India has once again started off its training project themed on “Nature-based tourism”. Designed for the project leaders, the training programme is an organized process and will be held at Swiss Hotel in Darjeeling from 14 to 19 July. It’s been past 15 years that the well-known environmental group has been making a good effort to focus its activities on human resource development and motivation programmes in the verticals of eco-tourism, rural and community tourism. The group hosts this kind of training course every year.

The residential training course will be offered free of cost and will span for a period of five days of 75 hours duration without any intervals. With a view to boost the eco-tourist destinations in rural areas of North Bengal, the project leaders will be imparted hand-on experience in areas of hospitality and tourism.

Says Bhaskar Das, training coordinator, Help Tourism, “Our next step will be to provide intensive site-based training for all those participating in the project and this would help them to hone their skills at site and perform their best. The training will emphasize on topics like attitude and behaviour of tourists, developing a mind to get familiar with tourists, receiving and orientation of tourists, housekeeping, room store, planning of food and cuisine, production of food and storage.” The voluntary training will also delve on other significant fields like upkeep of the surrounding ambience, creating programme activities for tourists, training of guides, billing and accounts, handling of computers and online booking procedures as well. The participants have to shell out Rs 3,000 for accommodation and food facilities for six days in Darjeeling.
There will be a team of expert tourism officials heading to Darjeeling to impart training to project leaders in order to enable them to implement the system in the work area.

“There are a number of eco-tourist lodges in North Bengal and Assam that are looked after by unprofessional hands without any exposure in eco-tourism. This kind of training intends to brush up the eco-tourism skills of the participants, encourage them to cater well to the demands of global tourists and make them interact with them. The training aims to bolster the prospects of eco-tourism.” adds Das.

The environmental body has discovered a number of new eco-tourist destinations last year. Most of these impressive places are in North Bengal, including Chilapata in Jalpaiguri district while North-east destinations are Dihing in Upper Assam and Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. The bustling tourist destination of Lataguri in Dooars that witnesses a huge turnout of tourists has been the discovery of this eco-tourism group.

source; statesman