Siliguri, June 25: Promote Bhutan, to bring more tourists to the Dooars.

Keeping in mind the symbiotic relationship between the two tourist destinations, the India-Bhutan Friendship Association is set to promote the Dooars and Bhutan as one destination and work towards greater tourist exchange between the two countries.

The decision to work towards joint promotion of tourism was reached at a meeting of the association in Thimphu held in the second week of June. The meeting was attended by the Delhi, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Siliguri and Bhutan chapters of the association.

“On June 8, we had a meeting with the Crown Prince of Bhutan, Jigme Kheshar Namgyal Wangchuk, who is also the president of the association. The Crown Prince assured us that he would work towards strengthening the relationship between Bhutan and India, and tourism could be one way to achieve the goal,” said Raj Basu, the secretary-general of the Siliguri chapter of the association.

“Meetings were held with different ministers, including Nado Rinchen, Bhutan’s deputy minister for environment, Aum Neten Zangmo, the officiating foreign minister, Ugen Tshering, the minister of labour and human resources, and Prime Minister Lyonpo Jigmi Y. Thinlay. We also had a discussion with the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce,” Basu said.

Explaining how the move would benefit the Dooars, Basu, who is also a tour operator, said: “Dooars is a not tourist destination that can be promoted on its own merit. The only way of bringing more tourists here is by clubbing the Dooars with either Darjeeling or Sikkim, Assam or Bhutan. Bhutan-Dooars is the best of the three combinations as the two places are close to each other and are well connected. But at the same time, as the two destinations extend across the international boundary, tourists can face a lot of complications,” said Basu.

According to him, both the governments would have to work out some arrangement so that people can have a hassle-free visit. This is expected to bring about positive changes on both sides of the border.

Other than tourism, the team headed by the Crown Prince has chalked out six areas of interaction between the people of the two countries: private sector, media and information, culture and sports, science and technology, youth and education, and legislation and judiciary. He has promised at least one joint programme every year, Basu said.