The threatened hornbills of Arunachal grab world attention as Aparajita Datta’s project aptly called the “threatened hornbills as icons for the conservation of the Himalayan forests of Arunachal Pradesh, India” gets short-listed for the Green Oscars. Aparajita Datta’s project to help save the hornbills of Arunachal Pradesh is among the seven other projects considered for the Green Oscars. The final results will be announced on May 2 at the Royal Geographical Society, London.

Arunachal Pradesh is the natural habitat of five species of hornbills which includes species such as the globally threatened rufous-necked hornbill and the brown hornbill. The hornbill bird has a special affinity and forms an integral part of the culture of the various tribes of Arunchal Pradesh.

The Green Oscars are presented by the London based Whitley Fund for nature. The prize money is Rs 2 crore (£245,000) to boost nature conservation initiatives in developing nations around the globe.

Photo by Hans Splinter

Sikkim draws great funding from the central government to boost adventure tourism in the state. Sikkim gets 7 out of 25 national projects to promote India as an adventure tourism destination on the global platform.

photo credit / mopop

It’s really interesting. You are young and still in college, and you have started a venture of your own, Holiday Scout. How did Holiday Scout start?

Well my uncle runs Himalayas Holidays, a renowned travel agency. I was inspired by him since my school days and starting a travel agency of my own was my aim. After finishing school, i opted for a diploma in tourism from YMCA. I started out Holiday Scout with a different approach to the tourism industry. Moreover, I am personally an avid traveler and operating a travel agency came naturally for me.

NE is slowly becoming a tourism hotspot and gaining attention over the past couple of years. What’s the current scenario in the region? What do you think about the future of tourism in this region?

The situation now is better than ever. There is a greater enthusiasm in people to go and explore the North East. Compared to 5 years ago, the attention that NE is getting is very positive and it is going to get better. NE evokes a sense of mystery among people from outside and it encourages them to come and explore this virgin land.

We have seen several State govt. endorsed festivals like Hornbill, Sangai, Tawang Festival etc being organized. Are these tourism festivals drawing in enough attention for your travelers?

To be utterly honest, state govt. sponsored festivals are not as effective as they can be. Perhaps it is due to lack of advertisement. We see advertisement in all formats of media when other states outside the NE conduct such festivals. Our festivals go by and large un-noticed because of lack of such advertisements. The state govt. should ensure that such festivals get prime time advertisement in all formats of media be it print or TV.Though, Hornbill Festival is doing a good job.l It has gone a long way into making Nagaland and NE a big tourist destination. It is now one of the biggest and well know Indian Tourism festival in the global tourist map.

Tourism is a big focus. Govt,. has been pumping funds to promote tourism in the region. What are some of the things that the govt. can do to help private entities like yours to foster tourism and vice-versa?

It is infact a commendable job the govt is doing by infusing much needed funds in the industry. Though a lot still needs to be done.The best known destinations are still very much out of reach for tourists due to the areas being termed either “disputed” or “disturbed”. Better infrastructure is the need of the hour. Also, corruption is taking its toll. Take the festivals for example, they are more of an state govt. officials festival rather than a tourist festival. Most of the visitors are state govt officials. The govt. should let the tourist bodies form an autonomous body and advise it on tourism related matter. Relaxing of permits for tourists will also help. By and large, the steps being taken by the govt. are in the right direction and we believe that in future these steps would pay off greatly.

What’s the most exciting and the most popular NE destination request right now?

That is actually a really hard one to answer. It is a close call between Sikkim, Tawang and Nagaland. each of these place offers something unique to the tourists. But I would have to add that Sikkim in all probability is the most popular destination as of now. It has much to be with good governance and relaxed norms for tourists and good coverage the state has got in media of late. Tawang and Nagaland are equally exciting but falls behind Sikkim due to some factors, most important being infrastructure.

The roads aren’t that good in the NE. Connectivity is a pain point. Have any of your travelers complained about anything esp. from an infrastructure perspective about the NE?

Connectivity indeed is the greatest problem when it comes to NE and it is the thing most travelers complain about. In fact  during most tours the road condition is the only complain we get from the tourists. Plus, other infrastructural aspects also lack when compared with rest of India. We need sincere efforts from the govt. to upgrade the present infrastructure of the region. For example, except Sikkim there is not a single world class hotel or resort in the NE.

Apart from the NE, what other destinations does Holiday Scout do?

We basically cover all of India and Bhutan and also South East Asia. The first two years, we focused only on north India and north east India. But since the last 3 months we have included south India and south east Asia as there was much demand for these places. Our Buddhist circuit is among the most sought after plans.

Until a couple of years ago, we hardly hear about tour operators from the region. But nowadays, we are getting to hear quite a lot. How’s the industry doing? Is it becoming somewhat competitive or still to get to that point where it gets competitive?

The tourism industry in the NE, of late, is very vibrant and dynamic. It has to do with the initiative of the govts. concerned. Up until recently, tourists used to visit the NE through travel agents based in either Delhi or Kolkata. But now, the local players are emerging. The youth is filled with a zeal be it any sphere. There is no shortage of entrepreneurs in NE. This is good for the industry. More players means more competition which in turn translates to better quality services to the tourists.

How do you think Holiday Scout stands out from the rest of the tour operators? What’s so special about Holiday Scout that travelers should come to you to get their tour organized?

Well, to begin with, we don’t sell our packages to the tourists. We make them according to the needs of the tourists. So our package differs from person to person. We give them a customized tour package so that the clients are involved in selecting the places they want to visit. WE try to make it as much enjoyable for them as they could. We don’t simply sell them a travel package, we take them for the journey as if we would take a family member. I think that is what makes Holiday Scout a bit different from other players.

What are the challenges that you face operating tours to the NE region?

Red tape! That is the biggest challenge we face in the NE. Most of the regions are out of bound for tourists and a permit to visit those places is not that easy to get, more so for a foreigner. Of late, that has changed for the better but the problem still persists. I hope issuing permits would be less bureaucratic and would take less time to be issued. Tourism can bring about a great change in the regional economy and the red tapism must be done away with. Not saying that there should be no permits, but just that tourist permits should be easier to get.

What’s your favorite holiday destination in the region?

The Himalayan slopes of Sikkim and the valleys of Nagaland. Personally, I like visiting the Mon region the most. It is quite different from other destinations of the NE and I quite feel that I have traveled back in time.

@Connect is where we connect with talents from the North East states.@Connect will feature amazing folks who are inspiring in a lot many ways. If you would like to be featured on @Connect, please email our editors at editor [at] reviewne [dot] com

Great news for Arunachal Pradesh tourism. According to a recent survey conducted by an IPSOS poll through Outlook Traveller magazine and its website, readers have voted Arunachal Pradesh their ’Favourite Upcoming Destination’. The award will be presented to the Arunachal Pradesh Tourism Dept. on Jan 24 in New Delhi. The IPSOS poll is a survey conducted to measure consumer preferences in the travel and tourism sector where consumers get to rate their preferred choice of hotels, holiday spots, airlines etc.

Photo Credit/Flickr/CC/Giridhar Appaji Nag Y

North East Fashion Festival will be endorsed by Soha Ali Khan and hopes to pull in some Bollywoood stars as part of the fashion extravaganza which will definitely help the north east fashion designers get more exposure and add more mileage to the event. And that’s great news, indeed, for the region. So if you are in Guwahati next month, don’t forget to stop by at the Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok for the North East Fashion Festival and rave at some of the most amazing fashion designs from the region.

Photo credit / Flickr – Dipayan Bhattacharjee

It’s definitely good times for metal bands in India and Nepal. Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses is here to select one awesome killer metal band from Nepal and India to perform at the Awesome Bloodstock Festival in U.K. What’s even better is the prelim rounds for the selection of the top bands from India to compete for a chance to perform at the Bloodstock Festival alongside metal gods like Slayer, Anthrax etc will be held in our own northeastern state of Sikkim. Yes, you heard it right. Gangtok will be hosting all the prelim selection rounds that will start from March through May for the bands competing from India.

The grand finale will be held on 23rd. of June at the Capital Hall in Darjeeling from which one winning band either from India or Nepal will get a slot to play at the New Blood Stage at the Awesome Bloodstock Festival in the U.K. in August this year.

For more info please visit: http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/events/boa-2013/masses_venues#darjeeling

You can also get updates via their FB page: http://www.facebook.com/BloodstockMetal2TheMassesIndia

The International Flower Show Sikkim 2013 aims to promote the floriculture industry in Sikkim and ultimately promote the state as a main floriculture destination. The organizers hope to pull in about 2,00,000 visitors during the 5day mega flower show. Sikkim has abundant natural wealth with numerous orchids, flowers, and medicinal plants spread all over the state. International Flower Show Sikkim 2013 is definitely one great step towards making Sikkim a biodiversity hotspot of the world.

INTERNATIONAL FLOWER SHOW 2013

Date of Show – 23rd to 27th February, 2013.
Duration of the Show - 5 days
Venue - Saramsa, East Sikkim

For more info visit: http://www.facebook.com/IFS2013

TNT Great Eastern Rock Vol. V

First off, a very Happy New Year 2013! Hope you all will have a splendid year ahead. Now on to some rocking, headbanging news. The Northeast Today is calling entries from bands from the northeast region to feature their music on TNT’s Great Eastern Rock Vol. V. The Great Eastern Rock Vol. V is planned to be released in the month of April 2013 and free copies will be available with the April issue of the magazine.

Bands from the Northeast can enter by sending an email to greateasternrock@thenortheasttoday.in along with their song, pictures, and a short bio. The last date of submission of entries is 10th February, 2013. So, if you have an awesome band and play awesome music, TNT’s Great Eastern Rock Vol. V is a great opportunity to promote your band. Cheers!

It’s almost the year end and here we are taking a look at some of the remarkable things from the NorthEast that happened during the year 2012. 2012 was an interesting year for the NorthEast region. We got a great deal of attention esp. in Sports and Music. Here are some of the best moments that we all are proud of.

1. 10 players from the NorthEast represented India at the London Olympics. MC Mary Kom brought home a Bronze Medal in Boxing.

2. Alobo Naga and the Band was nominated for the Best Indian Act at the MTV EMA 2012.

3. Shillong got its own Fashion Week; the Shillong Fashion Week (SFW) was introduced to promote fashion designers from the region.

4. Boomarang, the Mizo band opened for KORN’s maiden India tour in Gurgaon.

5. Sikkim hosted the 2nd PAI Paragliding Festival.

6. Ziro Music Festival was introduced with much fanfare with an amazing lineup of musicians.

7. Neil Nongkynreh of Shillong Chamber Choir became the first Indian native representing the World Choir Council.

8. Mizo Movie “Khawnglung run” sets a Benchmark for Upcoming Mizo Films.

9. Boomarang Band – the awesome rock band from Aizawl, Mizoram was signed for Luke Kenny’s upcoming movie ‘Zombie’.

10. Phijigee Mani, a Manipuri film, received National Awards in the Best Feature Film and Best Supporting Actress category.

11. Mohammad Ismat from Manipur topped All India  CBSE Class XII exam 2012.

Please leave your thoughts and recommendations if we have missed anything on the list using the FB comment box below. Cheers.
 

Image credit : christmasstockimages