www.travelwirenews.com India is to open 15 islands in the remote Andaman archipelago, developing a total of 50 new sites in the northern cluster of islands, 1,200 kilometres off mainland India.
“These sites have been selected so that environmentally-sensitive hotels and beach resorts can be set up under our tourism plan,” Andaman’s Tourism chief Dharam Pal told media. As per the information available, only 36 of the more than 500 islands in the archipelago, closer to Indonesia than India, are inhabited. Others have sensitive Indian naval and air force bases. Almost 52,000 arrivals were recorded between January and July this year in the Indian Ocean island chain.
Pal said the new sites will be leased through auctions to private investors. “In the first phase, tenders will be invited for four or five islands and depending on the response the other islands will be opened to domestic and overseas bidders,” Pal told AFP. “The idea is to develop an infrastructure which will attract eco-tourists and Bollywood filmmakers.”
Earlier this year, tourism in Andaman and Nicobar islands received a major fillip with the island state getting nod for hiring private planes and pilots to improve connectivity between its tourist destinations. The plan for leasing out islands also got a fillip with Union Tourism Ministry concluding its inter-ministerial consultation involving other ministries including Environment, Forest and Defense. The concerned ministries have been working on the modalities of leasing out islands keeping in mind the ecological and strategic significance of the islands. Negi had reportedly said 10 uninhabited islands would be opened for “high-end” tourists willing to pay premium rates. Most of the islands are closed to tourists, including Indians, mainly to protect their unique flora and fauna or tribes. |