Uttarakhand to organise an International Conclave in February to promote winter tourism Gajendra Singh Negi/ Dehradun The efforts of the Uttarakhand government to promote the Winter Char Dham Yatra have started yielding positive results. In less than one month of the commencement of the winter Yatra this year, more than 35,000 pilgrims have visited the State. The Tourism secretary Dhiraj S Gabryal told The Pioneer that last year an estimated 71,000 pilgrims had visited the State in winters for the Char Dham Yatra but this year more than 35,000 people have come to the State for this Yatra so far. He attributed the campaign undertaken by the State government to promote the winter Yatra for the increase in the number of pilgrims. Gabryal said that the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) is offering 50 per cent concession to the pilgrims visiting the State in winters in stays in its hotels. On the initiative of the State government, the hotel associations are also offering similar rebates to the pilgrims which has yielded positive results. Under the Winter Char Dham Yatra the State government is promoting the winter abodes of Char Dhams which are at Joshimath ( Badrinath), Ukhimath ( Kedarnath), Kharsali ( Yamunotri) and Mukhba ( Gangotri). The secretary averred that apart from promoting winter Char Dham Yatra, the department is also encouraging the tourists to visit the State during winters. The mountains of Uttarakhand offer excellent weather and plenty of sunshine for the tourists during winters when many regions of the country are covered with thick fog. Gabryal said that winter carnivals are being held in many areas including Mussoorie and Nainital. He added that the department is planning to organise a mega conclave in the month of February. The tour operators, members of hotel associations and other stakeholders from different parts of the country and world will participate in the conclave. The objective of the conclave is to promote Uttarakhand as a world winter tourism destination, he added.