The inaugural ceremony of training for Tour Guide/Trekking Guide/ Trekking Cook held at Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Ecotourism (IHCAE), Chemchey

Namchi, 19th August(IPR): The inaugural ceremony of training for Tour Guide/Trekking Guide/ Trekking Cook was held at Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Ecotourism (IHCAE), Chemchey, today.
The programme was organised by Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation in collaboration with IHCAE.
The chief guest for the day was Additional Chief Secretary(ACS), Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation,Shri. M.L Srivastava(IFS). He was accompanied by Principal Chief Engineer, Mr. Neeraj Pradhan as the guest of honour and Chief Engineer Tourism and Civil Aviation Department Ms. Shanti Tamang as the special guest.
At the outset, the ACS expressed his gratitude for organising training sessions for tourist guide, trekking guide, trekking cook. He emphasised that tourism holds a significance in the state. He urged the trainees to bring out satisfaction to tourists with the service improvement. He added that Sikkim is the hub of adventure tourism in the North Eastern regions.
In addition, he also mentioned the need for the trained guides in the state. He assured that various developmental projects for the tourism sector have also been established overtime to captivate more tourists from various regions.
Principal Chief Engineer, Mr. Neeraj Pradhan applauded the initiative of the department and highlighted the importance of tourism in the overall upliftment of the state. He apprised the participation of stakeholders and shared the innovative ideas that would boost tourism, especially the adventure tourism of the state.
Principal of IHCAE cum Joint Director Adventure, Mr. Kazi Sherpa gave a PPT, presentation,where he briefed about the theoretical and practical aspects of the training. He highlighted that the training will consists of rock climbing, preparation on carrying trekking itinerary, first aids, CPR practices, methods of handling casualties,improvised bridge making techniques during emergency rescue operations, river crossing, stretcher making techniques, which will be followed by menu planning for trekking cook,high altitude food, kitchen management and waste management.
The training was conducted to provide free refresher cum crash course from 19th August to 4th September to promote adventure tourism in the state, which has been organised in three batches.
During the programme, Ms. Shanti Rai was felicitated for being appointed as first permanent member from Sikkim for Indian Mountaineering Foundation(IMF). In addition the Chief guest along with the guest of honour were also presented souvenir.
It may be mentioned that this training will enable trainees to be qualified and certified as government-registered tour guides, trekking guides and trekking cook.
The day also saw the presence of Additional Secretary, Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation Dr. Prerna Chamling, Joint Director Cum Principal IHCAE, Officers of the concerned department, Stakeholders and representatives from Homestay Association of Sikkim(HAS), Sikkim Hotel and Restaurant Association(SHRA) and Sikkim United Tourism Organisation(SUTO)