by Suman Gupta
Gurugram / Dehradun 17 March 2023: Devbhoomi Uttarakhand received the Best State Award for being a pioneer in the field of adventure tourism. The state received the honour at the Travel and Tourism Conclave, which was held at the Hotel Hyatt in Gurugram and organized by a media house.
The award was presented to the state in the august presence of Shri. Ajay Bhatt, Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism and Defense, Government of India, Shri Amitabh Kant – Former CEO Niti Aayog, Shri Rohan Khaunte – Minister of Tourism, Goa, and various state tourism authorities.
The Tourism Minister of Uttarakhand state, Shri Satpal Maharaj, celebrated this accomplishment, saying, “This is a great source of pride and honor for us that the identity of Devbhoomi has now expanded to include adventure tourism in addition to religious and natural beauty. Among our adventure tourist activities, we have selected and developed many new destinations to promote paragliding, river rafting, trekking, kayaking, zip-lining, boating, skiing, and bungee jumping There are several of these, including Tanakpur in Champawat for rafting, Jauljivi in Pithoragarh, the Kali and Taus rivers in Uttarkashi, Satpuli in the Pauri district for paragliding, Maldevta in Dehradun, Khurpatal in Nainital, and the recently developed Kotabagh Tourists can experience the thrill of zip line activities in new locations including Kanatal, Sankri, Dhanaulti and, Rishikesh etc. Last year in November we flagged off the Trek of the Year campaign. This trek, intended to promote winter tourism in the state. The trek team of 150 members reached Dewal from Ghesh Bagchi Bugyal, and Nagad from Chamoli district. In addition, our team had earlier reached the Baljuri mountain, which is located at an altitude of 5922 meters”.
Shri Maharaj added, “Recently, we held two-month long training camps for river raft guides. Under this programme, the guides received training in first aid, CPR, and numerous tourist safety kits and precautions. In the upcoming months of September and October, we will be hosting a national river rafting competition, and we anticipate an increase in visitors during this period.”
Speaking of the upcoming Char Dham Yatra, the Tourism Minister stated that a total of 3,91,758 pilgrims have so far registered under the Char Dham Yatra registration, which began on February 18, 2023. Of these, 1,76,527 pilgrims have registered for Kedarnath Dham, 1,45,345 for Badrinath, 35,213 pilgrims have registered for Gangotri Dham, and 34,673 pilgrims have registered for Yamunotri Dham.
The minister stated that, the tourism department is working diligently and promptly while taking into consideration the Char Dham Yatra arrangements. For the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) Guest Houses, a total booking of an amount of Rs, 49,139,262 (four crores ninety-one lakh forty-nine thousand two hundred sixty-two) has been done which started from February 16, 2023.
