Punjab bags best rural tourism initiative award for farm tourism

Chandigarh, September 29, 2014: After having received the “Most Progressive State in Tourism” award from GoI, Punjab has yet again earned the international acclaim when it was selected as the “Best Rural Tourism Initiative Award for the Farm Tourism” at International Tourism Conclave & Travel Awards (ITCTA) held in Shimla to mark World Tourism Day. Sohan Singh Thandal Tourism Minister has congratulated the employees of Tourism Department for making earnest efforts to get State included in international tourist circuit. Basanta Raj Kumar, IFS, Executive Director, Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) received the award from  Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
Disclosing this here today official spokesperson of the Punjab Tourism Department said that PHTPB’s marketing efforts to reach out to travel trade has been successful and travel industry has well appreciated the product- Farm Tourism. He said that with the motive to facilitate the farm owners PHTPB has been organising workshops through industry professionals and further created a platform for them to promote through interaction with tour operators at various travel exhibitions and travel industry forums. He said that the farm tourism operator acts as guide and host to the guests visiting to Punjab who wish to enjoy the rustic way of life as an experiential tourism. He further mentioned that these farm houses are approved by PHTPB on pre-qualification criteria basis which also come along with certain benefits and special dispensation from Punjab Government. He said that at present there are 17 approved farm houses in this scheme and planning to add more based on response from travel industry. There is lot more to be achieved through a focus approach on product development and innovative marketing.  
It is pertinent to mention here that International Tourism Conclave & Travel Awards ITCTA is one of the finest events dedicated to inbound, outbound and domestic tourism to Discover India – Discover World.
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