MP Tourism: A new feather was added to MP Tourism’s cap on Friday, as the state’s famous hill station Pachmarhi was awarded the ‘Green Destinations Bronze Certificate’ at the ITB Berlin Travel Mart held in Germany. The Green Destinations Foundation based in the Netherlands presented the certificate to Ujjain Commissioner Ashish Singh.

Notably, Singh received the certificate on behalf of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board.

Pachmarhi to bag global recognition soon

State Tourism and Culture Minister Dharmendra Bhav Singh Lodhi commented on the feat, saying the achievement reflects the state government’s commitment to promoting sustainable tourism under the leadership of MP’s Chief Minister (CM) Dr Mohan Yadav. He added that the recognition reflects the state’s balanced approach towards tourism development, while preserving the environment, cultural heritage and local traditions. “The certification will establish Pachmarhi as an internationally recognised sustainable tourism destination, which is expected to attract more foreign tourists to the region,” he added.

“Pachmarhi emerging as a model for other hill stations”: Tourism Board MD

The Managing Director of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, Ilayaraja T, said that the award acknowledges the initiatives undertaken in Pachmarhi in several walks, such as heritage conservation, waste management, energy efficiency and climate protection. He further said that Pachmarhi has been emerging as a replicable model for other hill stations of the country, and eco-tourism destinations across India. He expressed hope that the recognition will further strengthen the concept of responsible tourism in MP.

‘Green Destinations’ Certification explained

It is noteworthy that the Green Destinations certification is considered one of the most credible international programmes for evaluating sustainable tourism destinations. It assesses tourism sites on the basis of three key pillars:

• Economic sustainability
• Environmental sustainability
• Socio-cultural sustainability

Pachmarhi earns honour after stringent evaluation process

Officials aware of the development said that Pachmarhi earned the honour after undergoing a detailed and stringent evaluation process. The destination was assessed across six major categories and as many as 75 criteria, such as destination management, conservation of nature and landscapes, climate and environmental management, cultural heritage, social welfare and business communication.