newsletter Tourism & Industrial Anna Centenary Trade Fair 2009

Transcription

1 tamil nadu tourism newsletter FEBRUARY th Tourism & Industrial Anna Centenary Trade Fair 2009 The annual Tourism and Industrial Trade fair was inaugurated by Hon ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Dr. Kalaignar M Karunanidhi on December 24. The event was organized by T.T.D.C as a part of the centenary celebrations of former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. Narrating the steps taken by the Government, Hon ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu said that the Coovuum river should become the Thames of Tamil Nadu and steps should be taken to beautify it. He explained how literary classics like Silapathikaram (a great Tamil epic) depict a number of places which have tourism potential in Tamil Nadu. Thiru N. Suresh Rajan, Hon ble Minister for Tourism and Registration said that 20 lakh tourists visited the fair this time as compared to last year when there were only 15 lakh visitors. Thiru K.S. Sripathy, IAS Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, Chennai Mayor. Thiru M. Subramaniam, Thiru C. Kuppusamy, MP, Dr V. Irai Anbu, IAS, Secretary to Government, Tourism & Culture Department, Thiru Sanwat Ram, IAS (Retd), Chairman, T.T.D.C., Dr M. Rajaram, IAS, Commissioner of Tourism & Managing Director, TTDC and other officials of all departments and government undertakings participated in the occasion.

2 Hon ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Dr. Kalaignar M Karunanidhi inaugurated the Chennai Sangamam on January 10, 2009 at the Chennai University Centenary Auditorium. Hon ble Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Thiru Vayalar Ravi, and Hon ble Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Smt Ambika Soni and Thiru N. Suresh Rajan, Hon ble Minister for Tourism and Registration and Smt Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Member of Parliament graced the occasion. Nadanthai Vazhi Kaveri the Chennai Sangamam stands today as the biggest and most versatile cultural festival of Tamil Nadu. It focuses on the multiple objectives of revival, protection and development of the traditional folk art forms of Tamil Nadu, increasing the livelihood of folk artists and also attracting tourists to Tamil Nadu from other parts of India. The event took place in 17 places, for 7 days in various parts of the city. More than 1,700 folk artistes and 450 artistes took part in the very successful Chennai Sangamam. 2

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4 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas The Hon ble Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan singh inaugurated the function in the presence of Hon ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Dr. Kalaignar M Karunanidhi The annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention provides a muchneeded platform to the Overseas Indian community to exchange views on ways and means to fulfil their expectations from the land of their ancestors. This year, the convention was held at the Chennai Trade Centre, from January 7 to January 9, The Tamil Nadu government played the role of an exemplary host and exempted delegates attending the event from paying the luxury tax charged by star hotels. The Hon ble President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil delivered the valedictory address and also conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards for His Excellency, the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Surjit Singh Barnala was also present. 4

5 FHRAI Annual Awards The Union Minister of Tourism and Culture; Smt Ambika Soni inaugurated the Federation of Hotel and Restaurants Assocaiton of India (FHRAI) award function and also distributed the awards at the annual function which was held on January 10. The Union Minister of Tourism said that the centre got in touch with the State Government to rationalise the luxury tax charged by hotels so as to ensure a uniform tax structure in the country. Further, the centre aims to increase international tourists from the present 5.08 million per annum to 10 million per annum. This would be possible if the tourism and hospitality industry offer attractive packages and launch innovative campaigns to lure tourists into the state. Nothing that there was a fall in tourim from to 8%, the Union Minister said that one reason was the global meltdown and the other, the terror attacks in Mumbai. But it is possible to overcome drawbacks by sustained campaigns. Dr V Irai Anbu, IAS, Secretary to government, Tourism and Culture Tamil Nadu thanked the Centre for providing sufficient funds for various tourism projects in the State, which helped it to improve lesser known tourist spots. Mr. M P Purushotaman President of FHRAI graced the occasion. 5

6 Hon ble Minister for Tourism & Registration, Thiru N. Suresh Rajan and Chief Secretary to Government, Thiru K.S. Sripathy, IAS beating drums to inaugurate the Indian Dance Festival 09 at Mamallapuram on Thursday 25th December, Indian Dance The Mamallapuram Dance Festival is held every year during December and January in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. This year, the Dance Festival was held from 25th December to 25th January 09. The annual Indian Dance Festival was inaugurated on 25th December 2008 by Thiru N. Suresh Rajan, Hon ble Minister for Tourism & Registration and Thiru K.S. Sripathy, IAS, Chief Secretary to Tamil Nadu by beating drums contrary to the tradition of lighting a lamp and declaring an event open. The evenings at Mamallapuram have been reverberating with music, dance and various art forms unique to the different states of the country, a monthlong cultural extravaganza Indian Dance Festival 09 which began with all pomp and glory on 25th December The gala event commenced with a scintillating performance by film music director Bharadwaj and troupes against the back drop of Arjuna s Penance amidst cheering foreigners. In this event, foreign tourists also took to the stage, and struck a big drum, announcing the start of the mega fest. The Tamil Panpattu Sangamam was followed by Thiruvasagam & Thiruppavai - an art form rendering devotional songs. The foreign tourists as well as local people were seen encouraging the many child artistes, who gave a spellbinding performance. The folk dance and Thappattam were also well received by the audience. During the month long festival, talented artistes from Rajasthan, Assam and Gujarat participated. Last year, 1.26 lakh people came down to see the dance festival, while this year, the inflow included 2.08 lakh foreign tourists and lakh domestic tourists. Dr V. Irai Anbu, IAS, Secretary to Government, Tourism & Culture Department, Thiru Sanwat Ram, IAS (Retd), Chairman, T.T.D.C., Dr M. Rajaram, IAS, Commissioner of Tourism & Managing Director, T.T.D.C., Thiru Santhosh K. Misra, IAS, Collector of Kancheepuram District and all officials of local bodies graced the occasion. 6

7 Pongal is celebrated on the first day of the Tamil month of Thai which falls approximately in mid January. Pongal is celebrated as the harvest festival in various parts of the country. Tamil Nadu Tourism organized the samathuva Pongal festival at the Chennai Tourist and Industrial Fair in the Rural Tourism Pavilion. Hon ble Minister for Tourism and Registration, Thiru N Suresh Rajan, Dr V Irai Anbu, IAS, Secretary to Goverment, Tourism and Culture Department, Thiru Sanwat Ram, IAS (Retd), Chairman, T.T.D.C and Dr M Rajaram, IAS, Commissioner of Tourism and Managing Director, T.T.D.C, officials from the Tourism Department and many foreign tourists participated in the event. Design Global Adjustments Chennai

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