GUWAHATI, March 31 - A four-member team of all women bikers on a tourism promotion expedition to the ASEAN region, arrived here on Friday evening. 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.
The expedition led by Jaibharathi Addepalli of Hyderabad also highlighted new tourism opportunities for women travellers, especially the road trips, both in India and the ASEAN region.
On completing 50 days of their travel, the all women team was greeted here 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.
The States of 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 their journey.
Road trips as viable option for tourism in India, Myanmar, Thailand Trilateral Highway (IMT) was also publicised.
�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 also given a warm welcome on their arrival at Moreh in Manipur, Dimapur, Jorhat, Majuli and Guwahati both by the government and the respective tour operators� associations.
The endeavour is also supported by Assam State Tourism and North-East India Tour Operators Association. After Guwahati, they will be riding through another six States of India, culminating the trip in Hyderabad by April 8.
