Sikkim best among North East

New Delhi, Feb 26 :The Union Home Minister, Shri. P. Chidambaram presented the National Tourism Awards in the presence of Smt. Ambika Soni, Minister of Tourism & Culture and Smt. Kanti Singh, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture here today.
The highlights of the awards this year is the Atithi Devo Bhava- Pride of India Awards instituted to recognize the outstanding contributions by the Tourism Industry Professionals/ Individuals/ Corporates /Organisations for exemplary service giving beyond call of duty.
For the current year this award has been given to Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai and The Oberoi & The Trident, Nariman Point. The employees of these hotels had demonstrated exemplary courage in helping the guests during the 26/11 attacks on their hotels.
The emerging sectors of tourism such as Cruise, Responsible, Accessible Tourism and Golf are becoming increasingly popular. In order to unleash their potential, Ministry of Tourism is promoting these sectors and, further, has instituted awards in these categories. Mahaparinivaran Express (Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train- IRCTC has been awarded the Most Innovative Tourism Project Award this year.
The Ministry of Tourism presents National Tourism Awards to various segments of the travel and tourism industry every year. These awards are presented to state Governments, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition of their performances in their respective fields and also to encourage healthy competition with an aim to promote tourism.