8 villages in Kalimpong in the run for UNWTO’s Best Tourism Villages Awards
A cluster of eight villages in Kalimpong district of Bengal have been nominated for the Best Tourism Villages (BTV) Award 2023, to be announced by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in October.
The eight are Panbu Dara and Chuikhim in Kalimpong I block, Nokdara and Ichhegaon in Lava block, Rishop and Mulkhagra in Pedong block, and Sundarbasti and Parentar in Garubathan block.
The BTV Awards were started in 2021, when 44 villages were awarded, followed by 32 the next year. This year’s awards will be announced in October. These 76 villages encompass 41 countries.
According to the UNWTO website, the BTV Awards is “a global initiative to highlight those villages where tourism preserves cultures and traditions, celebrates diversity, provides opportunities and safeguards biodiversity”.
Pochampally in Telangana, famous for the ikkat silk saris, is the only village in India to be awarded, having achieved so in 2021.
A further 40 have been selected (20 in each year) to participate in the Upgrade Programme where they benefit from expert mentorship and networking opportunities. Khonoma in Nagaland was included in this list in 2022.
