ADTOI (Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India), widely considered the national body of domestic tour operators, has announced the opening of its 9th chapter which is ‘Punjab-Haryana-Chandigarh’ representing the two states along with the Union Territory of Chandigarh that also doubles up as the capital of Punjab and Haryana. The chapter was launched at a function organised on May 5th at JW Marriott hotel in Chandigarh and was attended by Vikas Partap, IAS, Secretary-Tourism, Government of Punjab; SS Dhillon, Director Tourism, Government of Punjab, along with a host of senior government officials and tourism stakeholders from the new chapter region.
The new chapter has begun with some 20 odd members from Punjab-Haryana-Chandigarh region. However areas which are part of Delhi NCR in Haryana, like Gurgaon, Faridabad, have been excluded from the new chapter region. Ludhiana based Sky High Tours & Travels’ Manmeet Singh has been appointed as the Chapter Chairman.
Lauding the opening of the new chapter, SS Dhillon, Director Tourism, Government of Punjab, said, “It’s a welcome step. Actually, I think, they should have done it long time back but probably now is the time that they have thought of it and come up with it. It’s a good development.” Dhillon also pointed that in terms per capita arrival, the rate of growth of Punjab is probably amongst the best today and they are picking up very well.
Speaking at the latest development, PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, said, “One reason why we were very keen to establish our presence in this part of the country is because this region (Punjab-Haryana-Chandigarh) tends to be overlooked as a tourist destination when pitted against popular destinations like Kashmir, Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, among others.”
“However, the fact is that this region presents huge opportunity, of not only exploring great history and heritage that this part of the country is dotted with, but also presents tremendous opportunity of developing unexplored sectors like Farm Tourism, Village or Rural Tourism, among others. This entire region has not been explored as a tourist destination. And as a national tourism body we want to change that. The opening of the Punjab-Haryana-Chandigarh chapter is a step in that direction,” he added.
Furthermore Khanna said, “Take for example Punjab. Besides the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh and Wagah Border Parade, do people know about The Partition Museum, the War Memorial in Amritsar or Chandigarh Capitol Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The state has a strong product portfolio and there is need to bring together the industry there and then showcase the region to the rest of the country.”
ADTOI currently has about 750 odd members including about 380 active members. Based in the national capital, the association, with the addition of a new chapter, now has nine chapters across India, namely, J&K, Kerala, Gujarat, Bengal & North East, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and now Punjab-Haryan-Chandigarh.
