Gangtok:Mr. Subhash Goyal, President of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) was on a three day visit to Sikkim on the invitation of Mr. G.P Upadhaya, Commissioner- Cum- Secretary, Tourism Department, according to a press release received from Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation Limited. Mr. Subhash Goyal is one of the policy makers of the Tourism Industry in India and is also a member of the Planning Commission Tourism Committee. This was his first visit to Sikkim.
During his visit Mr. Subhash Goyal met members of Travel Agent Association of Sikkim (TAAS), Sikkim Association of Adventure Tour Operators (SAATO) and had various deliberations with them regarding Tourism in Sikkim. Mr.Goyal also visited Nathula and various places of tourist interest in and around Gangtok.In the dinner hosted in his honour by the Tourism Department at Norkhill Hotel wherein Members of TAAS and SAATO were also present, Mr. Subhash Goyal mentioned that he was really taken aback by the beauty of Sikkim and its Himalayan range, the hospitality and more so by the simplicity of the people and found vast potential of tourism in Sikkim.
Mr. Subhash Goyal advised Sikkim Tourism to target high end Indians, as Indians are rated the highest spenders in the tourist circuit. Sikkim should organize a Sikkim Travel Mart wherein Tour Operators from India and abroad are invited for marketing Sikkim as a tourism destination, he added.
Mr. Goyal stressed that hotels in Sikkim should have ethnic blend of decor, which will help in upgrading brand Sikkim.
On the request of Commissioner-Cum-Secretary (Tourism), Mr. Subhash Goyal also agreed to take up the cause for declaring Bagdogra Airport as an International Airport and also see possibilities of operating a bigger helicopter in Sikkim.
