Andaman and Nicobar is surely waiting to be discovered with picturesque landscapes, sterling beaches and nature's generous gifts.

Endowed with picturesque landscapes, sterling beaches and nature's generous gifts, the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago has sadly failed to realise its full potential as a tourism hub for India due to infrastructural inadequacies, lack of free enterprise and the fear psychosis of natural calamities. The group of 572 emerald islands in the Bay of Bengal, out of which only 36 are inhabited, is surely waiting to be discovered.

With its exotic looking beaches and pristine islands having equally exotic names, wonderful opportunities for adventure sports like snorkeling and sea-walking and a vast succulent array of seafood delicacies that come cheaper than the vegetables brought from the mainland, the Andamans can compare with many other dream tourist destinations across the globe.

One can laze around the enticing beaches at Havelock Islands, or Ross and Smith - the twin islands joined by a bewitching sandbar. Sea-bathing and sun-basking at the Corbyn's Cove beach helps one to unwind and de-stress while the Hilltop Gallows on Viper Island and Port Blair's Cellular Jail are sure to overwhelm the visitors with a sense of patriotism as the clock ticks back to the days of India's freedom struggle.

Before the infamous Cellular Jail came up in 1906, Viper Island was the jail house for convicts and freedom fighters of 1857, many of whom were sent to the gallows at the hilltop. The now-dilapidated red building stands testimony to the unbearable tortures and hardships inflicted by the British on the freedom fighters.

But located in Zone V, the highest seismic zone, the islands are highly prone to quakes and frequent cyclones. The scars of the devastating 2004 Tsunami - which ravaged the economy and the population, with the unofficial death toll estimated at about 7,000 - are still fresh.

"Being prone to devastating cyclones, the people have developed a fear psychology. They opt for the safety of government jobs. We lack the free spirit of enterprise here. Industries are very small and the opportunities are therefore very limited," said the union territory's Lieutenant Governor, Lt. General (retd) A.K. Singh.

According to official estimates, the flow of tourists doubled to nearly 300,000 in 2012 from 130,000 in 2008-09. Less than 10 percent were foreign visitors, officials said. The tourism department however feels that the growth rate of even domestic tourists should have been much higher, considering attractions like the Radha Nagar beach - chosen as Asia's best in 2004.

"The tourist inflow has been growing, but not at the desired rate. The growth can be far more if we can improve the infrastructure, including connectivity and hospitality. Higher flight rates act as a hindrance," Andaman Tourism Department Director P. Viswakannan told this visiting IANS correspondent.

Other stakeholders squarely blamed the lack of infrastructure and civic maintenance, especially on the cleanliness front, the bane of Indian tourist spots.

"The region's infrastructural deficiency makes it entirely dependent on the mainland. We have so few educational institutions that people here are not adequately qualified," said Jesu Manick of the Strategic Urban Rural Advancement Backing Institute (SURABI), an NGO that imparts industrial and other training to people.

Andaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry president G Bhasker pointed to other shortcomings. "We have so much potential in the fishing sector but we are not making much progress. Electronic communication is poor, there is lack of power, and transport facilities are inadequate. Once these problems are sorted out, there won't be any dearth of enterprise," said Bhasker.

With its stress on eco-tourism and adventure tourism, the administration is involving self-help groups (SHGs) and ensuring increased private participation to better the infrastructure. The focus is on fisheries and tourism - the two sectors which form the backbone of the economy.

Viswakannan said the administration was working on creating more projects under the public-private partnership model.

"The administration has been working on developing the islands as a major tourism hub, but we also need increased private participation," he added.

Connectivity is another grey area. Despite its international tag, the Port Blair airport currently gets no overseas flights.

Work is on to develop night landing facilities and is expected to be completed within six months. The administration hopes the airport will at least get a few stopovers of international flights.

On the security front, a host of safety guidelines, including setting up SOS kiosks and an enforcement agency to ensure the safety of tourists, have been chalked out. The SOS kiosks will be set up at the jetties across the islands, while the enforcement agency comprising police and tourism department officials will ensure tour operators comply with the prescribed safety guidelines.

Election tourism is new a phenomenon which ringing in cash for India's tourism trade.

Election in the world's largest democracy is ringing in cash for India's tourism trade as tour operators and hoteliers are promoting the new theme-based holiday package.
"Election tourism is new a phenomenon which is fast gaining popularity. It is being marketed as an additional attraction to those who are already planning a trip or made their bookings for holidays in India," Sharat Dhall, president, Yatra.com, told IANS.
"As it is a major world event and international attention is focused on it, tourists have shown interest in extending their stay by adding major election battleground states and cities like Varanasi in their itinerary."
According to Dhall, the addition of a few extra days' stay can be managed within Rs.10,000-Rs.20,000 with high end facilities, and for as low as a couple of thousand rupees, to experience election season in places like Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi.
"Though election tourism is at a very initial stage it might generate additional revenue of two-five percentage points in revenue in this election."
Taking advantage of the election fever that has gripped the country, an Ahmedabad-based travel agency is offering ‘election tours’ — guided trips to various parts of the country, to take in the “color, noise, controversies and drama” — its website says — inherent in a vibrant democracy.
And cities in Tamil Nadu, including Udhagamandalam, Coimbatore and Chennai may make it to the list. “We began in 2012 with the Gujarat Assembly elections when we realized that many foreign tourists, especially researchers and students, were interested in getting a first-hand experience of elections in India. This time around, we got a lot of enquiries about south India, and decided to offer Tamil Nadu in our packages,” said Lav Sharma, marketing manager, Akshar Tours.
Ahmedabad-based firm Election Tourism India, which started to sell niche packages during Gujarat assembly polls in 2012, is expecting to attract around 2,000 foreigners to come for the 2014 general elections.
The package which is spread across seven days and six nights with a cost of $1,200 (Rs.75,000) without airfare, will take tourists to political rallies and show them local attractions at the same time.
"Nearly around 800 foreigners have confirmed their participation to come to India so far. They belong to Germany, France, the UK, Bahrain, Dubai, Egypt and China," Manish Sharma of Election Tourism India told IANS from Ahmedabad.
"We will be taking these tourists to political rallies, showing them how five-six lakh (500,000-600,000) people congregate in these places and how rallies are taken out in cities," Sharma said adding that his company has tied up with the BJP to showcase its rallies in Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi and Jaipur.
London-based firm Political Tours' director Nicholas Wood told IANS about increasing numbers of inquiries related to Indian elections and people's interests in travelling to India for this purpose.
"We'd love to cover the run up to the elections. We have covered the US elections; so this could definitely be an option in future. Like all our tours we try to provide a very real approach to people's everyday problems as well as high level political analysis," said Wood, whose company promotes theme tours like 'London and the financial crisis tours', 'Libya tour - after the revolution' and 'China tours: growth and change'.
Travel portals have also registered an upswing in bookings at election "hotspots". Though the bookings have not come through a special pre-set "poll tourism" package, the trend is attributed to the general elections. "We tracked year-on-year growth of around 12% in hotel bookings for Varanasi. The numbers have grown exponentially for bigger cities - hotel bookings in Lucknow grew by 60% year-on-year while Ahmedabad has witnessed 35% growth in the same period. The general elections will fuel travel demand with increase in rail, bus and flight-bookings; and hotels and guest-houses will see an increase in demand as well," says Mohit Gupta, chief business officer for holidays at MakeMyTrip.com.

Subhash Goyal, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators estimates an influx of about 25,000-30,000 international tourists, including journalists, in April and May. "This is usually the lean season," says Gupta, when asked about the usual influx of international tourists in these months. His own agency, Stic Travel Group, has booked tours for from Singapore and Malaysia, political science students from the US, and other groups of tourists from the UK and the Middle-East who are specifically visiting to watch the elections unfold.
Other tour operators also claim to have observed a trend which indicates higher enquiries for ticket bookings and accommodation in major cities around their respective polling dates.
"With two of the biggest political personalities contesting from Varanasi, supporters of both the parties are thronging to Varanasi to boost their candidates. We tracked year-on-year growth of around 12 percent in hotel bookings for the city," Mohit Gupta, told IANS
Gupta's views were corroborated by Pradeep Singh, a New Delhi-based guide who operates tours with international tourists from various nationalities from the national capital to Agra. "Tourists would earlier ask various questions on how to bargain in markets, or how to avoid beggars, cows and congested lanes. Now they seem to be more interested in knowing about election details, which shows that they are aware of the magnitude of things happening here," he said.
"Posters, bill boards, advertisements in newspapers seem to have grabbed tourist attention. They even want to collect election campaigning caps as souvenirs," said another who was accompanying a troupe of Korean tourists to Agra.

To the den of the one-horned rhinos

Unlike a tiger reserve where the sighting of India's national animal is often a matter of chance, a visit to this national park in Golaghat and Nagaon districts of this northeastern state is certain to offer more than a glimpse of the one-horned rhinoceros, dwelling in its natural habitat

Despite the elephant grass being at its tallest around this time of the year, one could spot as many as 34 of these odd-toed ungulates during the course of two jeep safaris and an elephant ride - some as near as a couple of metres away.

The best time for sighting, though, is March when the forest officials burn the grass to facilitate fresh growth, and the small watering holes dry up, forcing the animals to go to the larger reservoirs to quench their thirst. Big cats still remain elusive!

A World Heritage Site declared by Unesco, Kaziranga boasts a third of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses, even as it is also home to Asiatic Water Buffalos, Swamp Deer, elephants, gaur, sambar, wild boar and hog deer.

Park officials claim the park is also home to 86 tigers in its area of 430 sq km as per Census taken in 2000, making it a reserve with one of the largest densities of this big cat. But only a lucky few claim to have spotted one, including residents and regulars.

This apart the park also houses nine species of primates including the Assamese Macaque, Lutings, Golden Langur and the only ape found in India, the Hoolock Gibbon. It also has quite an array of birds, both resident and migratory.

As per an official notice board on the outskirts of the park, Kaziranga has 1,552 Great One-horned Rhinoceroses, 1,432 Asiatic Water Buffalos, 468 Eastern Swamp Deer, 1,048 Asiatic Elephants and 478 species of bird species.

Located to the south of the mighty Brahmaputra river, the park itself is divided into four ranges - Burapahar, Baguri, Central, and Eastern - which are headquartered at Ghorakati, Baguri, Kohora, and Agoratoli, respectively.

Among them the Kohora range is rich in birdlife, the Agartoli range promises glimpses of elephants and turtles, the Baguri Range has a fair concentration of the Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceroses and the Burapahar Range offers good sightings of the apes.

Once one has settled in one of the numerous hotels, lodges and resorts, both the jeep safari and an elephant ride are must-dos. While a jeep safari covers a lot of distance, a ride on the pachyderm takes you to the interiors for a closer view of rhinos and other fauna.

Trekking and hiking are prohibited so as not to disturb the animals, but one can climb atop one of the several observation towers at Sohola, Mihimukh, Kathpara, Foliamari and Harmoti, for sightings. The park remains closed from mid-April to mid-October.

The rides at the park are also not too expensive. A jeep safari for some three hours can cost around Rs.2,000 per trip, while an hour-long elephant ride is for Rs.550 per head, inclusive of the park fee. Book an elephant ride in advance - they are much in demand.

Reaching Kaziranga is also not too difficult. The nearest airports are at Jorhat, around 100-km away, and at Guwahati, some 225-km away. While the nearest railhead is 40 km away at Jakhalabandha, the park is also well connected by road, along the National Highway.

Getting There:

* Kaziranga Nation Park is a 150-minute drive from Jorhat and 180-minute drive from Guwahati. Cabs cost around Rs.1,800 to Rs.2,500. Bus rides are available, too.

* The nearest airports are at Jorhat and Guwahati, 100 km and 225 km away, respectively.

* The park is on National Highway 37.

Accommodation:

* Double rooms and cottages in one of the several Assam Tourism-run properties around the park cost between Rs.1,500 and Rs.3,000 per night, while a stay in a private luxury resort can go up to around Rs.20,000 per night for two people with all amenities thrown in.

Eating out:

* Food is inexpensive and one has restaurants to pick, suiting every budget. In the Assam Tourism-run properties, a meal costs around Rs.400 for two people.

Source :: MSN TRAVEL