One-stop shop for the itchy-feet

Did you know that right in the centre of Amritsar is a bungalow where Brigadier General REH Dyer sauntered about and had a lazy British breakfast before heading out to Jallianwala Bagh on a beautiful Baisakhi day (the Punjabi New year) to massacre thousands and forever bloody the garden? Dyer’s bungalow, part of Maharaja Ranjeeth Singh’s fort which the British had made theirs, is among the hitherto little-known pieces of heritage Punjab is now inviting the public to savour.

Thoroughly enjoying her role as the  tourism secretary for Punjab, IAS officer Raji Shrivastava recounted this story on Friday at the India International Travel Mart (IITM), a travel and tourism exhibition with stalls from 20 Indian states and 15 other countries.

Though steeped in tumultuous history, Punjab hasn’t been drawing enough tourists besides those to the Golden temple in Amritsar and Wagah border. All that is set to change with the plans set in motion by the state’s Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board, spearheaded by Shrivastava. With gleaming eyes, she spoke of the harvest festivals, Baisakhi and Lodhi, craftsmen of Tripadhi village making Parindha (a colourful adornment women tie to their plaited hair) and intricate Phulkari embroidery.

“Lately we have been seeing a lot of young families touring Punjab. Mostly IT professionals who first visit Punjab on work and then come back again with friends and family to explore the state’s history and culture. Our cuisine is also another draw,” she said.

Plan now if you want to see Dyer’s bungalow and the fort, which would be thrown open to public this World Tourism Day, September 27, she added. There are several more destinations eagerly eyeing Bangalore’s travel-hungry folk. Egypt for instance. Post revolution, the country is keen to have tourists. Adel El Masry, director of Egypt Tourism Office in India, assured that “it is completely safe for tourists”. India is one of their prime tourism markets, he added.

Tourism officials and representatives from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Malaysia, Oman and Switzerland are some of the other international participants at the exhibition. Besides the government delegates, travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, resorts, spas, arctic cruises, airlines, travel portals and other travel companies have also set up over hundred stalls at the KTPO Trade Centre, the exhibition venue.

“Travellers can find out about new destinations, compare packages and get great deals, while the participants get an excellent platform to connect with the market and find new clients here,” said Rohit Hangal, director of Sphere Travelmedia, the organiser of this exhibition.  He remarked that Indians are now moving to more exploratory travel. “Earlier, people used to go for packages like ‘3-day-2-night Singapore-Thailand-Malaysia. Now, they prefer spending all three days exploring one place rather than hurry through the holiday,” he said, adding that Indian travellers are vying for the highest spenders spot with Japanese in the UK and rest of Europe

IITM is on till July 28 at KTPO Trade Centre, Whitefield. Entry is free.

One-stop shop for the itchy-feet