GUWAHATI, Sept 11 - Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati is organizing a four-day North East Adventure Tourism Festival (NEATOFEST 2018) from September 13 to 16 at Bogamati in Baksa. The event is being organized with the support of North Eastern Council (NEC), Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), ATDC, Bodoland Tourism, Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare and India Tourism.
IIE director Dr Abhijit Sharma said this festival is an outcome of IIE Business Incubation Centre on Adventure Tourism. Adventure is part of the DNA of the youth in this part the region and it combines well with the culture and lifestyle. �There is immense scope and potential to promote enterprises around this sector. IIE has its expertise and business models to popularize this sector among the public and adventure enthusiasts,� he said.
Sharma said the adventure tourism festival will help in establishing Bogamati as a new summer destination and bring about a change in the socio-economic condition of the locality. The unemployed youths of the BTAD area can also take this up as a business venture.
IIE designed a value added aspect to tourism by introducing adventure activities and training 200 youths across the North-east since 2016 to start its own enterprises. By organizing this festival, IIE seeks to motivate and give the upcoming entrepreneurs of this sector a platform to showcase their expertise and business models also popularizing this sector among the people.
Activities like white water rafting, hiking, cycling, ATV riding, zip-lining, kayaking, parasailing, paragliding, paramotor, trail run, wall climbing, obstacle race, rope activities and parkour have been lined up as part of the festival. Besides these activities, traditional games, seminars and workshops on adventure tourism and home-stay and rural tourism will also be held during the four-day extravaganza. NEATOFEST will also have various competitions with attractive prize money.
