Nightlife, hospitality, ambience a must for tourism: Daimary

GUWAHATI: Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary has asked the State Tourism Department as to what sort of nightlife and hospitality the State has on offer for tourists.

The MP was speaking as the chief guest at the function organized for the launch of an aggressive campaign through static advertisements, mobile app, website, radio jingle and TV commercials on Monday. Barring radio jingle, all the rest have been shot with State’s Tourism ambassador Priyanka Chopra.

Daimary said: “Tourists visit a place to enjoy. Why will they visit a place if there’s nothing to enjoy? Isn’t it our duty to give tourists a liberal atmosphere? There’s no nightlife, no casino, no scope for gambling here in Assam. During the day, tourists are busy with sight-seeing, but what will they do at night? They’ve no way out but to confine themselves in their hotel rooms. It’s for sure that tourism can’t grow in confinement.”

“It’s well that such an advertisement blitz has been launched to woo tourists. But what kind of hospitality do we have on offer for visitors? How best are we ready to receive them? We need to give them facilities like nightlife, casino as is the case in some other States in the country. We need to think such possibilities seriously,” Daimary said, and added: “Yes, we’ve some tourist spots in the State. But what’s the condition of roads that lead to such spots? Do the spots have right facilities befitting visitors? We need to teach drivers English and Hindi at least the bare minimum as they’re the ones who lead tourists to various destinations in the State.”

On militancy casting a shadow on tourism in the State, Daimary said: “Even we can en cash it. I suggest bringing designated camps of surrendered militants into the tourism map of the State. Visitors are curious to interact with former rebels on their jungle life and struggle.”

On the proposed home-stay facility for tourists, Daimary said: “The plan is fraught with the risk of insecurity. But then, the government can select some villages or areas and erect some ten/twenty cottages together so that their security can be ensured at ease.” Launching the focused tourism campaign, Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) Chairman Jayanta Mallah Baruah said: “From tomorrow we’re going for the advertisement blitz in local, national and international media. Exclusively for the print media, we’ve prepared as many as 56 still pictures. The radio jingles will be in twenty different regional languages, besides English and Hindi. The TV commercials will be in regional languages. Golf and tea have been given special thrust as the State is unique in India with as many as 30 notified golf courses. Our concept is earning revenue and creating job avenues through tourism.”

Launching the TV commercials, State Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley said: “We’ve laid stress on film tourism.”