State has biggest tourism potential, says Gantzer

Ajay Ramola

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, November 29

Eminent travel writers and residents of Mussoorie Hugh Gantzer and Colleen Gantzer believe that of all states in India, Uttarakhand has the highest tourism potential but the state government instead of marketing its products is selling it, thus losing out to the stiff competition around the globe.

Hugh Gantzer says the government should not sell tourism as street vendors do in a hope that it will catch the eye of tourists. A market man is the one who finds out what is his potential customer wants and then tailors his product to suit those needs. The state government has to find out what potential tourists want in the first place and what comes to the mind first is clean air. Uttarakhand has ample clean air or fresh oxygen and open spaces and natural air-conditioned rooms that are not at the mercy of electricity that is usually affected by load shedding. All these things are enough to attract potential tourists living in small spaces in urban areas and eager to escape the heat of plains and relax and spend time with their families, he adds.

The writer says tourists look for a meaning in life and Uttarakhand has all the ingredients to provide them that meaning. Uttarakhand is blessed with magnificent outdoors that attract tourists both religious and adventure loving like a magnet. The most prominent ones being Char Dhams and other places such as Hemkund Sahib, Rishikesh and Haridwar. Besides religious traffic, the government should focus on developing subsidiary destinations en route to the places such as the beautiful Harsil valley in Uttarkashi district. The best way of promoting these subsidiary destinations is to carry their pictures on the one side of any ticket that the government sells and details on the other. These tickets will become attractive souvenirs to be passed around as free publicity for years to come. These should also contain a list of hotels for which advertising hotels should be charged so that the government can pay the cost of the tickets.

Hugh says the role of the state in tourism should be that of a facilitator and not a competitor. “The government should open up new areas by creating infrastructure such as tourist accommodation and once private investors move in, it should sell it to them and use the proceeds to develop new areas. The job of the government should not be to make money for itself but that of creating wealth for its citizens,” he adds.

He adds Uttarakhand can be the Himalayan counterpoint to Kerala, as it has the three most revered rivers, namely the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Saraswati. As Kerala has monopoly over ayurveda, Uttarakhand should do the same in yoga and market it as a discipline tailored to individual needs.