Chennai
“When the tour started early at 9 am, we could not see the ongoing tourism and trade fair in Island Grounds as the fair started at only 11 am. If the tourism fair was at the end of the tour and temple visits were at the beginning, the tour would have been better,” said J Albert Selvaraj, a retired headmaster from Sivaganga who came to visit his daughter’s house in city. To increase awareness on tourism, the Tourism department organised the one-day local tour for Rs 10 per person, on Tuesday. The tour covered major tourist destinations such as Island Grounds, Marina beach, temples and finally the Guindy Children’s park.
Due to downpour in the morning, there was lukewarm response initially but as time progressed, the number of tourists increased. According to Tourism Department, close to 300 tourists utilised the opportunity.
Though it was a new experience for tourists, they demanded better coordination from tourism department. “After the Guindy Children’s Park visit, we were asked to wait underneath the bridge for the bus but it went over the bridge and there was no one to pick us. When we tried to contact the telephone numbers given by the tourism department only one number was working and there was no proper response from the officials”, said Arun Kumar, another tourist from Koyambedu.
When Tourism Department was contacted, a senior official from the department said, “All the telephone lines were working properly and as far as buses are concerned a guide was appointed for every bus to ensure that no tourists are left behind. However, regarding the plan the department will definitely look into it and will charter a better plan in future.”
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