Chennai: Beach-goers were pleasantly surprised with the aerial shower of flower petals on them on Sunday. A Cessna 172 aircraft (Glass Cockpit) made four sorties showering flower petals on the Marina and Besant Nagar beaches, marking the celebration of World Tourism Day in style by the TN Tourism Department and Madras Flying Club.
When the Cessna, operated by Capt Sunil Kumar Singh, whizzed near the Marina lighthouse morning walkers and others who were sauntering believed the aircraft to be on a training mission. Their joy knew no bounds when flower petals were dropped from it.
“We wanted to surprise morning visitors to the resplendent beaches of Chennai and also drive home the message of the importance of tourism and how it improves life and enriches our experiences,” said Har Sahay Meena, commissioner of tourism, who initiated this novel way of observing the day.
It was the first time an aircraft was used to celebrate WTD in the state and probably the first time ever such an event was organised in the country, a senior official of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) said.
Tourism does not exclude anyone. It is a key to the nation’s overall development, especially in fetching foreign exchange, besides providing rejuvenation and joy. Tamil Nadu has multifarious attractions like high hill stations, 1,076 km long coastline, towering temples, heritage monuments, waterfalls, backwaters, wildlife sanctuaries and botanical gardens, which are all worth a visit, Meena who is also the managing director of TTDC, said.
The Madras Flying Club was roped in for this spectacular show. “It was very thoughtful of the Tourism Department to arrange this event. My aircraft was afloat for about 45 minutes from 8.05 am and about 40 kg of flower petals were dropped from the craft,” said Capt Sunil Kumar Singh. Days before the event, the TTDC had to obtain permission from the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and even clearance from the police.
The theme of WTD, celebrated on September 27 annually, is: “One Billion Tourists, One Billion Opportunities.” A Tourism Walk was organised as part of the celebrations at Marina Beach in which over 1,000 students from various colleges in the city, tourism officials and members of the Madras Flying Club, participated.
