The two-day long 1st Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Eco-Tourism (IHCAE) Alumni Meet 2025

The two day event is being organised by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department, Government of Sikkim in collaboration with IHCAE Chemchey, which saw the participation of 238 including (30 percent women)alumni from various batches of the IHCAE.

The primary aim of the meet was to foster connection, share experiences and ensure the sustainability of adventure and eco-tourism in the state through alumni engagement and collaborative learning.

Joint Director cum Principal, IHCAE Chemchey, Mr Kazi Sherpa, in his address, welcomed all alumni for their zeal and enthusiasm in participating in the two-day event. He emphasized that since the courses based on adventure and eco-tourism are newly introduced under the Sikkim INSPIRES initiative, alumni engagement in this event plays a crucial role.

He further added the institute’s efforts in expanding and improvising training module, announcing new courses such as Butterfly Guide (Level I & II), Culture Guide (Women), along with advanced training in Paragliding and Mountain Biking. He stated that these workshop will significantly contribute to skill development, sustainable livelihoods, and the overall growth of tourism in Sikkim.

In his address, TSA Team Leader Mr Tanmay Dash provided an overview of the Sikkim INSPIRES initiatives, which focus on strengthening the tourism sector through skill enhancement, improved market linkages, and strategic planning. He highlighted that the two-day workshop has been designed as a platform to gather valuable feedback from alumni, which will play a crucial role in updating training modules, addressing existing gaps, and further refining IHCAE’s courses to meet emerging industry needs

In the afternoon, an expert-led group discussions was facilitated by TSA Where, each group comprising of Bird Watching Guide, Tourist Cook, Tour Guide, Trekking Guide, and Travel Agents deliberated on their respective fields and prepared summaries for presentation.

This was followed by the findings and reflections session, where key insights from the group discussions were shared. Alumni also spoke about their professional journeys post-training, the roles they are currently engaged in, and gave suggestions for value addition and the design of new training modules to keep pace with evolving tourism demands.

It may be mentioned here that networking session and distribution of essentials for tour and bird watching guide is scheduled for the next day.

Present amongst during the meet were Deputy Director (Adventure) Mr Manoj Chettri, Deputy Director (Namchi) Ms Lamin Theengh, Deputy Director Mr Dewan Gurung, OSD (TCAD) Mr Nakul Gurun,, AD (Adventure) Ms Pempa Doma Bhutia, President Butterflies and Moths of Sikkim Nature Conservation Society Mr Nawang G Bhutia, along with other official and staff of TCAD and IHCAE, Chemchey, and tourism stakeholders.