Throughout the length and breadth of the country, from the Rann of Kutch in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east, there are virgin lands promising adventurous outing besides business opportunities to tour operators.

However, for tour operators, marketing the nature-tourism potential of these destinations is proving to be as difficult as the terrain of the these regions.

"Every one from tourists to government officials agree that these regions have immense potential. But lack of proper communication infrastructure and accommodation, besides bureaucratic short-sightedness is creating problems," says Major S K Yadav of Wanderlust Adventures.

Governments--both at the Centre and in the states--seem to be the main object of ire ofmost tour operators. "No doubt they come up with policies and plans every now and then but the problem is that these are never implemented honestly or even if that is done, little is achieved as most official pronouncements do not reflect ground realities," claims Vijay Thakur of India Vision Tours and Travels.

"What we tour operators can do is take people to the new circuits, but it is for governments to ensure that roads and accommodation facilities are developed. It seems they are not interested at all," regrets Yadav.

Besides, entrepreneurs complain that too much of official nitpicking and obsolete security applications were bulldozing their efforts to market areas. For some areas in the border states, like the Rann of Kutch or the Bomdila-Tawang circuit in Arunachal Pradesh, tourists need permission from the Union home ministry.

"The Bomdila-Tawang circuit holds immense potential but to reach there one needs an inner line permit, which is no encouragement to tourists who are keen to visit theseplaces," says Yadav. He, however, is hopeful that with Omak Apang, Union minister of state for tourism, hailing from the state, matters will improve on this front.

Similar problems are affecting tourist traffic in the Rann of Kutch where tourism potential remains largely unexplored. The problem becomes more acute when it comes to taking foreign tourists to these places because thegovernment is too security sensitive, claim entrepreneurs.

Moreover, in areas where there are no such restrictions, officials put up unnecessary hurdles. "Sometimes when we put up tents for tourists in far away valleys or forests, we are harassed by officials often on flimsy grounds," regrets Yadav. Thakur points out that lack of co-ordination among different government departments like the PWD, the police and the forest and their often directionless approach towards tourism was also neutralising the efforts of entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs say that the minimum that they expect from the government is that it build proper roadsand helipads, especially in the remote areas and do away with superfluous official restrictions. And if it cannot do all these, it should invite private sector participation for creating a basic minimum tourism infrastructure.

"Private sector participation in development of infrastructure can be a way out, government should give a serious thought to the issue," says Thakur.

Entrepreneurs point out that places like Tawang and Bomdila should be provided with proper airlink as the journey by road is gruelling enough to discourage tourists from visiting these places.

Despite all these hiccups, what is holding on the eagerness of the entrepreneurs to market the lesser known areas as hot shot and adventurous destinations is the immense business potential that they hold for them.

Yadav estimates that by the turn of the century, eco-tourism can easily become a Rs 2,000-crore industry. Thakur, too, is optimistic on this front and says that tour operators should continue concentrating on unexplored destinationsof which there is no dearth in the country.

As such, entrepreneurs like Thakur have been going on their own. It is another matter whether official support comes or not. "Unexplored natural spots in Gujarat, Kerala, Orissa and Tamil Nadu are high on our agenda," says Thakur, who has tied up with the London-based Eco-Tourism Network, for marketing of eco-tour packages offered by his firm. He claims that the response among foreign tourists has been encouraging which augurs well for the future of eco-tourism industry in the country.

Marketing forms an important component of the tour operators' efforts to make tourists visit new destinations. "Himalayas are attractive because they combine natural beauty with a quest for spiritualism as they are celebrated in the Hindu mythology as the `abode of God'," is what Yadav often tells prospective tourists in an attempt to lure them to the mountains.

Besides, adventures like river rafting, trekking, balloon flying and participation in local festivals and othercommunity events are also being offered as bonus to those visiting the new destinations.

In the light of past experiences where too much tourist traffic had played havoc on the ecology of a number of popular tourist spots in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, operators have now become more environment conscious. Tourists are being encouraged to adhere to a number of do's and don'ts while visiting ecologically fragile places. For instance, most tour operators discourage tourists from carrying plastics or littering around wastes in their places of stay.

Yadav is optimistic that with a little government support, entrepreneurs will be able to contribute their bit to the safety of the environment.