Workshop on Entry- Level Community- Based Tourism conducted at Namthang BAC.
Publish Date : 18/03/2025
Namchi, March 18 (IPR) : A two- day workshop on entry- level community- based tourism under Sikkim Integrated Service Provision and Innovation for Reviving Economics ( INSPIRES) organised by The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation, supported by Sikkim United Tourism Organization ( SUTO) was conducted at The Block Administrative Centre ( BAC) Namthang, today.
The programme had the presence of Mr Pravin Gautam Sub Divisional Magistrate Namthang, as the Chief Guest.
He was accompanied by Mr Laxman Tamang CDPO Namchi, Ms Dipti Rai AD Tourism, Gram Panchayats, local tourism stakeholdes, staff and members of BAC Namthang, members from Self Help Groups ( SHG) and dignitaries from the Tourism Sector.
Mr Pravin Gautam in his address thanked the entire team of Sikkim Inspires and the members of the Gram Panchayat Unit ( GPU) for the successful conduction of the workshop. He urged the local stakeholders to focus on homestays due to the growing it’s demand in rural areas of Sikkim over the years.
He also emphasised the need to preserve local culture and traditions as they play a crucial role in attracting more tourists and encouraged the people of the regions to work towards making Namthang a rising tourist destination, leveraging it’s natural beauty and connectivity.
Ms Depti Rai delivered a Power Point Presentation outlining the fundamentals of Community Based Tourism ( CBT). She emphasized that the primary agenda of the entry- level workshop was to provide grassroots- level information to the local stakeholders.
She highlighted the importance of identifying and harnessing the tourism potential in the region and stressed that additional training programmes would be required to ensure sustainable growth in the tourism sector.
She also underlined that CBT directly benefits from local communities , fosters environmental conservation and contributes to overall community empowerment.
She urged the local stakeholders to focus on better management and coordination to ensure a steady flow of tourists and to support the overall growth of tourism sector in Namthang.
Following her presentation, Mr Pranil Uprety, a local stakeholder and a homestay owner shared his personal experience in the tourism business. He stated that tourism plays a vital role in boosting the local economy, generating new employment opportunities and in engaging the local youth towards a positive and sustainable growth of the state .
Dr Jigmie Wangchuk Bhutia Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Tourism ( SU) , Mr Sonam Gyamtso Bhutia Senior Research Fellow ( SU), Dr Jeckme Namgyal Bhutia Team Leader, Ms Pandi Ongmu Bhutia Project Investigator, were also present as resource person among others for today’s workshop.
During the event, Mr Pravin Gautam SDM Namthang was also felicitated by the organizers for his unwavering support and dedication towards the people of the region and his contributions to the tourism development of Namthang.
Today’s workshop also featured interactive sessions with the audience including
Participatory Rural Appraisal ( PRA) exercise covering :
1.Tourism Resource Mapping ( Existing and Potential)
2. Tourism development history of the area ( time lines)
3.Seasonal Mapping
4.Training Calendar
5.SWOT analysis
6.Institutional Venn Diagram
7.Transit Walk Mapping.
Lastly, the workshop not only provided valuable insight and practical strategies to enhance CBT in Namthang but concluded with a call to action for the local stakeholders to collaborate effectively, ensuring sustainable tourism growth while empowering the local community.