Sri Vijaya Puram, October 27: The proposed Island Tourism Festival in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will be planned on a larger scale following a review by Lieutenant Governor Dr. Dinesh Sharma, who has directed the Tourism Department to make the annual event bigger and more attractive than in previous years.
Sharma reviewed the festival preparations and a detailed presentation by the Directorate of Information, Publicity and Tourism (IP&T) at Lok Niwas on Monday. His directions place the scale and presentation of the proposed festival at the centre of the department’s planning.
The festival aims to showcase the islands’ cultural heritage, distinctive natural beauty and tourism potential. The department will have to incorporate the Lieutenant Governor’s directions into its preparations for the proposed edition, with an emphasis on expanding the event beyond the scale of previous years.
The review brought together senior officials involved in the administration and tourism portfolio. Chief Secretary Gyanesh Bharti, the Commissioner-cum-Secretary for Tourism, the Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary for Information, Publicity and Tourism, and other senior officials attended the meeting.
The review focused on the proposed festival’s scale and presentation, with the Tourism Department receiving directions to organise a larger event than in earlier editions. The administration has identified the festival as a platform to present the islands’ cultural and natural attractions and their potential for tourism.
The announcement, however, did not specify the festival dates, venues, budget, programme schedule or proposed attractions. Details of the arrangements for the upcoming edition were not provided in the information released following the review.
The department’s next planning steps will determine how the directions translate into the festival’s final format and arrangements.
