Chain of cottages at the Tourist Village Tuophema in Kohima district.
Kohima | April 3 : The normal programme of promotion of tourism through dissemination of tourist information, fairs and festivals will continue during 2010-2011, according to the annual administrative report of the tourism department tabled in the assembly session here recently by parliamentary secretary for tourism Yitachu.
It is also proposed to continue development of tourist infrastructure in rural areas with the objectives of community involvement, participation and management of tourism assets in the rural areas, the report said.
The budget provision of tourism during 2009-2010 stands at Rs. 907.73 lakhs (Rs. 635.43 lakhs (revised) - state plan and Rs. 272.30 lakhs under non plan).
The department having realised that privatization and communitisation are a more efficient way of running the tourist lodges and other tourism assets has embarked on a privatization and communitisation process. This creates the people as stakeholders and they fully involved in its sustainable upkeep.
Under the policy, the report said, more asserts created in the rural areas have been privatized. Under this policy, most of the assets erected in the rural areas have been handed over the village tourism boards to run on day to today basis and to maintain it as well. The process of communization and privatization is on even for the newly constructed projects and tenders are often floated calling entrepreneurs to run it.
The report also stated that ongoing works are also progressing in full swing and will be put through the same process. “As this year has also been declared as the year of entrepreneurs, capacity building training to train up the management staff of rural tourism projects in the communitised villages will be given due priority as well,” the report said.
Photo Courtesy: Morungexpress
