A four-member team of women bikers on a tourism promotion expedition to the ASEAN region, arrived in Guwahati on Saturday.
Jaibharathi Addepalli from Hyderabad who led the expedition highlighted new tourism opportunities for women travellers, especially road trips, both in India and the ASEAN region.
The team, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, travelled 16,992 kilometres, covering countries in South Asia and the ASEAN region, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, to promote tourism in India and to showcase the rich culture and tradition of the country.
On completing 50 days of their travel, the all women team was greeted by Shoeb Samad, Regional Director of India Tourism, North East.
The expedition was flagged off on February 11 from Paryatan Bhawan, Hyderabad and the bikers have covered 19 UNESCO world heritage sites during the journey in the ASEAN countries.
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odissa, West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were covered by the team during the expedition.
Road trips as viable option for tourism in India, Myanmar, Thailand Trilateral Highway (IMT) was also publicized.
“The production crew accompanying the team has documented the tourist destinations of the States through which they travelled and also through photography and videos. These images and films will also be contributed for the Incredible India campaign of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
Live feeds on social media has showcased the excellent road network across seven nations during their journey and encouraged travellers to use roads more extensively as a way to discover the region,” sources in India Tourism said.
The team was accorded a warm welcome at Moreh in Manipur, Dimapur, Jorhat, Majuli and Guwahati both by the government and the respective tour operators’ associations.
The initiative is also supported by Assam State Tourism and North-East India Tour Operators Association.
After Guwahati, they will ride through another six states of India, concluding in Hyderabad by April 8.