GANGTOK: It’s that time of the year when families packed their woollies and head straight for the hills to beat the scorching heat in the plains. And the cool clime of Sikkim is where every vacationer seemed to be headed for. That the tourists are making a bee-line for this tiny Himalayan State in doves is eveident by the fact that these days, MG Marg looks like a huge Mela ground and locals face the acute shortage of taxis to ply them home. Every other vehicle is headed for Tsomgo or Nathula. Sikkim is now admittedly considered an ideal vacation destination because its scenic splendor accompanied by tranquility, serene ambience, political stability and principal of Athito devo bhawa (loyal respect to visitors). The tourists are coming, the tour operators are doing brisk business and Sikkim is firmly on the tourist map of the world.“This season has started well for us. The number of tourists coming to Sikkim is increasing every year and this is good for the industry,” says Tshering Namgyal of Explore Sikkim Tours and Travel.However, while the tourism sector is growing at a great speed, there are also various bottlenecks that impede it. One of the biggest grouse amongst tour operators is the unstable tour rates prevailing in the market.
There are no uniform rates for tour operators in the State and the same changes frequently, which cause much heartburn amongst the tour operators as well as the tourists. The lack of uniform rate is a serious drawback, says one local tour operator. This calls for some prompt initiative from the State Government along with the private sector to control the pricing.The exponential growth in this sector is visible in the number of hotels, lodges and restaurants that came up in popular destinations of North and West Sikkim, including Gangtok. There is a huge demand for these destinations evident from North and West Sikkim packages selling like hot cakes lately. “We have come all the way from Chennai and we are very happy with what Sikkim has to offer,” says G Gopinath, an engineer from Tamil Nadu who is here with his family. “we have already visited Tsomgu Lake and Nathula and plan to visit North Sikkim,” he adds.The demand for package tours has accelerated particularly for Yumthang, Yumisamdong and Gurudongmar in North Sikkim as the most visited places, along with Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathula as undeniable destinations.In an average, 50 tourists vehicle alone are hired for local sight seeing and about 200 to 250 are being booked for one Tsomgo-Nathula day trip. Gyan Kundu from Durgapur in West Bengal feels that Sikkim is an ideal tourist destination in all aspects. The most impressed thing he feels about Sikkim is the ban on the use of plastic bags, perfect traffic norms and friendly nature of Gangtokians.Recent reports from the
Department of Tourism reveals a notable increase in the number of tourists visiting the State both domestic and international with 17 percent and 19 percent rise respectively in 2004-05 as compared to 2003-04. The number of visitors making a beeline towards Sikkim was unprecedented with a total of 2,68,267 visitors (domestic and foreign according to the Sikkim Tourism Department figures) arriving in Sikkim in 2005 and 1,79,385 visitors till June in 2006.Proposals on the cards with the Department of Tourism towards further fostering of tourism in Sikkim includes boost to adventure sports as river rafting, trekking, mountain bike rally, boating, rock-climbing, archery, together with demonstration of para-gliding and hot air ballooning. Three more peaks that are below 20,000 fts namely Bhum Khangtse, Lama Angden and Frey’s Peak have also been opened for expeditions.
GANGTOK: It’s that time of the year when families packed their woollies and head straight for the hills to beat the scorching heat in the plains. And the cool clime of Sikkim is where every vacationer seemed to be headed for. That the tourists are making a bee-line for this tiny Himalayan State in doves is eveident by the fact that these days, MG Marg looks like a huge Mela ground and locals face the acute shortage of taxis to ply them home. Every other vehicle is headed for Tsomgo or Nathula. Sikkim is now admittedly considered an ideal vacation destination because its scenic splendor accompanied by tranquility, serene ambience, political stability and principal of Athito devo bhawa (loyal respect to visitors). The tourists are coming, the tour operators are doing brisk business and Sikkim is firmly on the tourist map of the world.“This season has started well for us. The number of tourists coming to Sikkim is increasing every year and this is good for the industry,” says Tshering Namgyal of Explore Sikkim Tours and Travel.However, while the tourism sector is growing at a great speed, there are also various bottlenecks that impede it. One of the biggest grouse amongst tour operators is the unstable tour rates prevailing in the market. 
There are no uniform rates for tour operators in the State and the same changes frequently, which cause much heartburn amongst the tour operators as well as the tourists. The lack of uniform rate is a serious drawback, says one local tour operator. This calls for some prompt initiative from the State Government along with the private sector to control the pricing.The exponential growth in this sector is visible in the number of hotels, lodges and restaurants that came up in popular destinations of North and West Sikkim, including Gangtok. There is a huge demand for these destinations evident from North and West Sikkim packages selling like hot cakes lately. “We have come all the way from Chennai and we are very happy with what Sikkim has to offer,” says G Gopinath, an engineer from Tamil Nadu who is here with his family. “we have already visited Tsomgu Lake and Nathula and plan to visit North Sikkim,” he adds.The demand for package tours has accelerated particularly for Yumthang, Yumisamdong and Gurudongmar in North Sikkim as the most visited places, along with Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathula as undeniable destinations.In an average, 50 tourists vehicle alone are hired for local sight seeing and about 200 to 250 are being booked for one Tsomgo-Nathula day trip. Gyan Kundu from Durgapur in West Bengal feels that Sikkim is an ideal tourist destination in all aspects. The most impressed thing he feels about Sikkim is the ban on the use of plastic bags, perfect traffic norms and friendly nature of Gangtokians.Recent reports from the 
Department of Tourism reveals a notable increase in the number of tourists visiting the State both domestic and international with 17 percent and 19 percent rise respectively in 2004-05 as compared to 2003-04. The number of visitors making a beeline towards Sikkim was unprecedented with a total of 2,68,267 visitors (domestic and foreign according to the Sikkim Tourism Department figures) arriving in Sikkim in 2005 and 1,79,385 visitors till June in 2006.Proposals on the cards with the Department of Tourism towards further fostering of tourism in Sikkim includes boost to adventure sports as river rafting, trekking, mountain bike rally, boating, rock-climbing, archery, together with demonstration of para-gliding and hot air ballooning. Three more peaks that are below 20,000 fts namely Bhum Khangtse, Lama Angden and Frey’s Peak have also been opened for expeditions.
