The Island Tourism Festival 2012 hosted by the Andaman & Nicobar Islands was kick-started on January 5th, inaugurated by Andaman and Nicobar Governor Lt Gen. (Retd) Bhopinder Singh. There is participation from Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Delhi, Karnataka and Meghalaya are also participating in the festival.
The main venue for the cultural and other programmes is the capital – Port Blair. Others are Diglipur, Long Island in North and Middle Andaman, Neil Island, Havelock Island, Wimberleygunj, Bathubasti in South Andaman, Wandoor, Amphitheatre at Anarkali Basti and Netaji Stadium in Port Blair Municipal Area and Car Nicobar in Nicobar District. There will be a showcasing of the islands’ lifestyle, languages, tribes, cuisine and other island traits.
All tourism agencies will be up and offering all their services – those who love adventure tourism will have a whale of a time. Water sports, Scuba diving, parasailing, surfing and others will be popular. There will be magic shows and puppet shows for children. Other attractions are the Canoe Race, Nicobari Hodi race or Dog shows. Restaurants, hotels and resorts will be serving the best dishes on the islands.