GEYZING, : Tourism minister Tshering T.
Bhutia attended the second day of the Rural Tourism Meet organized by Tourism
department under Sikkim INSPIRES project at Gumpadara, near Uttarey.
In his brief address, the
Tourism minister commended the effort of the department for promotion of rural
tourism through the evnet. He said that Rural Tourism Meet was possible due to
a visionary approach and support provided by Chief Minister P.S. Golay who, he
said, has been diligently pushing for growth and development of tourism in
Sikkim considering the sector's potential to ensure sustainable economic growth
of Sikkim.
Bhutia called for participation
of youth in tourism sector, stating “Tourism sector is a medium to bring about
needed economic development in a sustainable way which would ultimately sort
out the difficulties related to livelihood.”
Bhutia added that the State
government is giving priority on promotion and development of tourism to enable
Sikkimese youth to earn livelihood in a sustainable and dignified way.
“Development and promotion of rural tourism are very much needed to address
unemployment problem amongst youth and ensuring a guaranteed livelihood through
a tourism initiatives in urban and rural areas as a whole,” Bhutia said.
He also spoke about promotion
of homestay tourism in the rural areas in a greater way.
During the day, the Tourism
minister also took a hot air balloon ride. A mountain biking event was another major highlight of the day.
