Familiarization tour
SHILLONG: As many as 17 international and 31 domestic tour operators landed in the State on Monday to participate in the Familiarization (FAM) Tour 2013 organized by the State Tourism Department from November 4-10.
Organized with an aim to showcase, promote and market the State’s vast tourism potential to further increase international and domestic tourists to the State, this FAM tour will focus on attracting tour operators from within the country and abroad while marketing Meghalaya as a tourist destination thereby developing the tourism sector in the state.
To further highlight the tour operators on the various tourist spots, the State offered a B2B (business to business) meet which was held on Tuesday at Hotel Pinewood. The meet witnessed presentations and interaction for a comprehensive marketing and promotion of the entire state.
The international tour operators who attended the FAM tour included those from United Kingdom, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Korea, Bangladesh, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, Italy and Thailand while the domestic tour operators are from different part of the country like Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim and New Delhi.
During the meet, local tour operators presented a 10-min presentation on the potentials of the State in the tourism sector. Different presentations like Campfire Trails, Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort, Meghalaya Adventure Association, Tower Tours and Travels, Siju Eco Camp and Pioneer Adventure Tours highlighted on the different tourist destinations the State has to offer.
During this tour, the tour operators will visit various places in the State including Garo Hills to get a glimpse of the beauty of the State while spending some nights in villages with an aim to interact with the locals.