Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 31
Nagaland Tourism, albeit in different category, has scored twice in row at the Outlook Traveller (OLT) Awards. The State’s premier annual gala, 'The Hornbill Festival', was honoured with the “Readers’ Choice Award for Best Festival” at the recent Outlook Traveller Awards held on March 29 at The Grand, New Delhi.
The award is given by Outlook Traveller, which describes itself as India's leading “travel magazine and narrative travel website.”
Nagaland was bestowed the honor along with Rann Utsav, an annual festival of Gujarat usually held in November. The state of Arunachal Pradesh was given the Jury Award for “Best State for Tourism,” at the OTA Awards 2018.
The award recognizes excellence in travel and tourist and representatives from the travel industry on the basis of consumer preferences and they vote for “travel destination, hotels, places and its services.” The Award is given through selection by public voting as well as a jury.
On March 29, Public Relation Officer Tourism, Nagaland Lisapila Anar received the “Readers’ Choice Award for Best Festival—Hornbill Festival, Nagaland.”
The Hornbill Festival, designated as the ‘Festival of Festivals,’ is celebrated every year at the beginning of December. According to Nagaland Government, the festival is held to “encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage” and “showcases a mélange of cultural displays under one roof.”
Such bestowal in the tourism sector is not the first time for Nagaland. The 10th edition of the award in 2017 bestowed the 'Best Birding Destination' to the Government of Nagaland for Doyang Lake. It also featured in the top ten places for bird watching at the recent listing by National Geographic.
Incidentally, according to State Tourism Department data, the 2017 edition of the Hornbill Festival saw the highest turnout yet at 2, 43, 214 visitors, beating the previous record of 2,43,113 visitors registered in 2015.
The number of foreign tourists also increased significantly with 2401 registration, superseding previous record of 1646 in 2016.
Dzükou Valley in contention for India Today Tourism Awards
Meanwhile, another important tourist destination in the state, the Dzükou Valley, is also in contention for another tourism award.
The serene and scenic valley is nominated in the category of India's top three “adventure travel destinations” in the India Today Tourism Awards. Along with the Dzükou Valley, the renowned national tiger reserve, Valmiki National Park, Bihar and White Water Rafting, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand are nominated in the category.
The India Today Tourism Awards asked readers to vote for the best tourism destinations in the country as seen through their eyes.
Apart from Dzükou, two destinations in Northeast – Namchi, Sikkim and Aizawl, Mizoram – are also in contention for best Hill Stations.
Voting are still open and readers can vote their favorite destination here:
