SPORTS
(Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism & Sports)

                       SPORTS (Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism & Sports) a registered society established in 1982 is the nodal agency for promotion of tourism in Lakshadweep. The very purpose of its creation is promotion of tourism & sports in U.T of Lakshadweep. Lakshadweep Administration has also recognised the SPORTS as implementing agency for various tourism activities in the islands.

                      The organisation has a number of Beach Resorts in Lakshadweep. At present there are six islands open for tourism viz. Minicoy, Kavaratti, Kadmat Kalpeni, Agatti & Bangaram. Of these , three islands- Bangaram, Agatti & Kadmat are open for international tourists also. SPORTS has leased out  Bangaram Beach Resort to private enterpreneurs for operation. The other four islands except Agatti Island beach resort are being managed by the SPORTS.

As the land is precious little in Lakshadweep only limited number of accommodation facilities are possible. Carrying capacity of each island has been assessed depending on potable water,  density of population in the island, and other available resources. Hence only a limited number of accommodation facilities are available in the island as given below:

 Due to fragile ecology and limited resources mass tourism is not possible. Hence the aim is to bring low volume high quality tourists. The tourists who enjoy the nature without disturbing it are encouraged.

                                With a view to not burden the islands, day excursion trips are encouraged and organised by SPORTS so that the tourists do not deplete already limited resources. In such trips tourists stay onboard the ship and during the day time they get down to the islands  for sight seeing etc.. The ship m.v Tipu Sultan  carries a maximum number of 160 tourists per trip. In an average 40 packages are operated in a year.

                  The main source of income for the SPORTS is operation of tour packages to different islands. For this a number of packages are operated to Kavaratti/Kalpeni/Minicoy/Kadmat. Following are the tour packages undertaken by the SPORT

Apart from these, private cottages at Minicoy and Kalpeni are also marketed by SPORTS. Over the years a number of tourists have visited the islands in different packages. The tourists flow to island during last 9 years are given below:

   As can seen from above year 99-00 was a very bad season for SPORTS. It was due to disturbances in ship service to the islands. The packages are totally dependant on ships m.v Tipu Sultan & m.v Bharath Seema. When ever there is a disturbance in the shipping service repercussion are felt in the tourism sector also. Hence for smooth operation of the packages proper ship service is a pre-requisite.

             All tourists focal island are surrounded by a vast lagoon ideal for Water Sports and rich in marine fauna & flora. Taking advantage of this, SPORTS has established a number of Water Sports facilities and is now an organisation committed to promote Water Sports. As part of this, a full-fledged Water Sports Institute is functional at Kadmat. Facilities for Kayaking, Canoeing, Windsurfing, Yatching and Glass Bottomed Boats are available in almost all tourists focal island. Scuba Diving facilities with competent instructors are available at Bangaram and Kadmat. A new Scuba Diving center has recently been opened at Kavaratti also.

 As an organisation committed to the welfare of people of Lakshadweep. SPORTS has employed around 73 persons in different capacities directly and has generated many employment opportunities indirectly. Further what ever items available are purchased locally so that local population is benefited. As part of diversification, SPORTS has undertaken the catering for two new ships M.V. Minicoy and M.V. Amindivi.

             During 2000-2001 around 2992 domestic tourists and 871 international tourists have visited the islands. Despite many bottlenecks the SPORTS has been able not only to survive but generate a decent revenue during 2000-01. The cost of operation of the package has also come down considerably to around 33% against 60% during previous years.

Turnover of the SPORTS for last  four years are given below:

                   There are 6 units of the SPORTS at Kalpeni, Minicoy, Kavaratti, Kadmat, Androth & Kochi. All the units in the islands except Androth are looking after the activities of the tourists in the respective islands. Androth unit has recently been created for coordination of the activities connected with the running of the hostel mess of Mahatma Gandhi College Hostel. The Kochi unit has been functioning as booking, coordination procurement branch of the SPORTS right from its establishment. Tourists pay the package rates to Kochi unit and funds are transferred to other units as and when required.

          For more details on SPORTS and tour packages to different islands please visit www.lakshadweeptourism.com or e.mail at laksports@vsnl.net .                                                                        

( A.M Hussain )

                                                                             Deputy General Manager