U’khand for yoga tourism

The International Yoga Festival, an initiative of the Tourism Department of Uttarakhand (UTDB), is being organised along with the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam( GMVN). The festival will be held in Rishikesh from March 1-7, 2014.

Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam has signed an MoU with 14 hotels for The International Yoga Festival (IYF), and these hotels will be the accommodation partners

This year, we are targetting 500 international and about 2,000 domestic tourists for the festival.

R Rajesh Kumar, MD, GMVN & Festival Chairman

for the festival. Talking about the expected turn- out, R

Rajesh Kumar, MD, GMVN and Chairman of the festival, said, “This year, we are targetting 500 international and about 2,000 domestic tourists for the festival.”

HD Pandey, OSD, IYF, said that last year, the festival received 315 registered tourists, out of which 50 were foreign tourists and 260 were domestic. “After which, the festival was opened for the locals in Rishikesh,” he said.

CM Bhandari, Advisor, IYF, said that the festival has been organised to attract international attention and to popularise Rishikesh as a destination for wellness and yoga. He added, “Most people today suffer from some dis- ease or the other, it maybe hypertension, diabetes, or other lifestyle- related problems in India. In the West, emotional issues alone are so many that they just want some relaxation. That is why there is a huge scope for yoga, especially in Uttarakhand.”

The festival will be held at The Hotel Ganga Resort Rishikesh, right next to the bank of the Ganges. Classes will be held indoors, as well as outdoors.

What The festival Offers

Three hotel properties of GMVN offer a range of accommodation from dormitories to AC rooms. Schedule on the inaugural day includes Yog Yatra on bicycle, and a Rudra Shanti Maha Yajna, Ganga aarti and cultural programmes.