Tourism stakeholders in north Bengal and the eastern parts of Nepal have joined hands to promote destinations in the two geographically contiguous regions with similar landscapes.

On Tuesday, representatives of the Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators’ Association (EHTTOA) inked an agreement with delegates of the Koshi chapter of NATTA (Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents) at a hotel in Mechinagar, under Koshi province of Nepal, which is around 50km from here.

“We want tourists from Nepal to visit north Bengal and those touring north Bengal and Sikkim to go to the destinations in the eastern parts of Nepal. The associations will together promote cross-border tourism to increase the footfall on either side of the border,” said Debashis Chakraborty, general secretary, EHTTOA.

According to the agreement, both EHTTOA and NATTA will jointly work on cross-border tourism, transportation and accommodation.

“Our first joint move is to identify, list and promote homestays on either side of the frontier. In due course, we will also take the initiative to conduct different events to promote various destinations, especially the lesser-known spots in the eastern parts of Nepal, a region that shares borders with India and districts like Darjeeling,” said Punya Prasad Bhattarai, president of the Koshi chapter of NATTA.

Those associated with the tourism industry in north Bengal said some destinations like Kannyam and Shree Antu were fast gaining popularity among Indian tourists, and especially among the tourists of Bengal and Bihar.

“Hundreds of tourists regularly visit these places, which are alternative destinations to places like Mirik, Kalimpong, and other hilly hamlets near Darjeeling. We will take initiatives to popularise these destinations among tourists across India,” said Suresh Thakuri, the president of EHTTOA.

He pointed out that in Nepal, the majority of the tourists visited places like Kathmandu, Pokhara, the Chitwan National Park and surrounding areas. “But the destinations in eastern Nepal are no less attractive. Also, from Siliguri, one can reach places like Kannyam in three hours, the same travel time as many places in the north Bengal hills,” Thakuri added.

Representatives of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) were also present at the signing of the agreement.

Surya Thapaliya, a senior official of NTB, said they had already taken initiatives to apprise the stakeholders of the tourism industry of the upcoming destinations.

“We are steadfastly focusing on eastern Nepal and want the cross-border tourism to get more Indian tourists in this region. The NTB has been conducting familiarisation trips for the stakeholders so that they can gather information about these places. We are also working for extensive publicity of the destinations through different media,”
said Thapaliya.