Sikkim is pushing its tourism envelope witha combination of nature and spirituality to preserve the essence of itsHimalayan heritage and make a statement of sustainable growth in this age ofmanic concretisation of the fragile hill environment.
Sample this: Laid out across 23 acres of lush slopes against a startlingbackdrop of the icy Kanchenjunga and the Maenam hills range in southernSikkim's Rabongla district shines the state's newest tourism address - theTathagata Tsal or the Buddha Park, nearly 65 km from Gangtok.
At the center of the park perches a shrine with a towering 140 ft statue ofLord Buddha with its face coated in 3.5 kg of pure gold in the Dharma ChakraMantra tradition. The icon and the park built at a cost of almost Rs.400million ($7 million) over the last seven years is expected to boost the state'seconomic fortunes on the strength of the Buddha relics from nine countries.These were installed at the sanctum by Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan KumarChamling in a grand ceremony in Rabongla on Tuesday to commemorate LordBuddha's 2,550th birth anniversary.
Hope for tourism, one of Sikkim's economic lifelines, piggy-backs on Buddhisttrails, nature tourism and village tourism.
Major Buddhist centers like the old Rumtek Monastery, Rumtek Dharma ChakraCentre, Pal Zurmang Kagyud monastery, the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, agiant statue of guru Padmasambhava and one of Tathagata, together with ahandful of holy lakes, including Changu at 12,400 ft above sea level, keep thestate's Buddhist circuit busy.
The countryside is dotted with smaller monasteries like the Phadong monastery,Phensang monastery, Tholung monastery and the Doling monastery that onestumbles along the way.
However, Sikkim's approach to spiritual tourism is secular, Chamling said."Buddha may be of primary importance, but the government has built areplica of the Hindu Char Dham - four temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and LordVishnu - at Shri Siddhesvara Dhama at Namchi in southern Sikkim", Chamlingsaid.
A gurudwara in Gangtok and churches across the state add to the holisticcolour.
"We have been pushing tourism as a new profession and major economicactivity. We want our children to work in the tourism service sector. We aretraining youngsters and building capacities," Chamling said, adding thatthe "state is exploring new frontiers in eco-tourism to add variety".
The focus on eco-tourism has become more creative and infrastructure-orientedsince Sikkim was declared "an eco tourism destination in 2009",Tourism Minister Bhim Dhungel said. He said Sikkim was one of the pioneeringstates to promote nature tourism with "forest and flower trails"involving individual stakeholders and non-profit groups.
Citing examples, Dhungel said nature getaways like the Singlila trek, theDzongri trek, the Rhododrendon Valley trek and the Jongu camp trail werepopular for their diversity of natural splendour both among foreigners anddomestic tourists.
"Sikkim became a tourist state after 1975. Before that, under the rule ofthe Chogyal (kings), Sikkim was not exposed to the world. Now tourism isvirtually our bread and butter and contributes nearly 6 percent to the state'sGDP," Tourism and IPR Secretary K.S. Topgay told IANS.
"One may wonder why six per cent... It is a small figure," theofficial added.
Tourism revenue in Sikkim is split - that from the hotels goes to the powerdepartment and that from the tourist taxi trade goes to the transportdepartment. As a result, the base tourism revenue is almost a pittance.
"The economic determinants for tourism are skewed under the currentgovernment policy. Even as a couple of travel components do not benefit tourismdirectly, the nature of tourism is still centred around urban destinations likeLachen, Rabongla, Pelling and Namchi. The state government has realized thatthe economic benefits from tourism were not reaching the common man because ofits urban drift," the tourism secretary said.
As a pro-people alternative, the government is encouraging home stay invillages, Topgay said. At least 720 new village homestays are going to opentheir doors to tourists this year. The homestay owners have been trained inhospitality and quality control at the Institute of Hotel Management and StateInstitute of Capacity building in Gangtok.