( Asia’s largest Rural Tourism Initiative, says Mr. Raj Basu, Convenor of Association of Conservation & Tourism)
TTT NEWS NETWORK
PATNA | 7 DECEMBER 2025
The 7 th Himalayan Orange Tourism Festival (HOTF) 2025 is going to be held at City Centre in patna of Bihar from 11 to 13 December 2025. Organized by: Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT) and City Centre, in collaboration with Tourism Association Bihar (TAB) And Association for Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) along with the support from Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
11th, 12th & 13th December, 2025.
Venue: City Centre, Patna. Bihar. India.
Himalayan Orange Tourism Festival (HOTF) is a significant community-based initiative by ACT (Association for Conservation and Tourism).
The Himalayan Orange Tourism Festival (HOTF) is a significant and community-based initiative of ACT (Association for Conservation and Tourism). It started in 2010 in the Samsing-Jaladhaka area of Dooars, where the idea of connecting farmers, villages, local culture, and nature was born. Gradually, the festival reached Kolkata in 2014 via Pemling and Lohagarh. The people of Kolkata embraced Himalayan culture, local food, handicrafts, homestays, and agritourism. This support led to the festival’s continuous success in the six editions of 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024. With the unconditional and kind support of the City Centre administration in Kolkata, ACT was able to connect rural communities with the main cities of tourism, especially Kolkata, Siliguri, and Patna. Over time, the participation of Dooars, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Arunachal, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Manipur, and Himachal Pradesh has made HOTF an important cultural and international platform.
In recent years, challenges such as landslides, floods, and a shortage of tourists have affected Himalayan communities. In such times, ACT has decided not to stop the festival but to strengthen it further for the assistance and hope of the communities. A study has shown that the number of tourists from Bihar and Jharkhand is continuously increasing, indicating new opportunities for tourism in eastern India. For this reason, it was decided to hold the 7th edition of HOTF in Patna in 2025. The festival will now be held from December 11-13, 2025, at Patna City Centre – on the historical land of Magadha, from where the light of knowledge, compassion, and culture has spread throughout India for centuries.
At a press conference for the event , Mr. Raj Basu, Convenor of Association of Conservation and Tourism, Smt. Gitali Lahiri, Coordinator, Smt. Mahasweta Roy, Coordinator.
Smt. Tannistha Rakshit, Coordinator, Mr. S.K. Singh, President,, Tourism Association of Bihar (TAB), Mr. Amrendra Kumar Pandey, Director Incharge, CoFAM, North Bengal University etc were present.
HOTF’s Mission – in simple terms:
1. Strengthen rural economy by connecting farmers, women’s groups, artisans, and homestay operators directly with urban consumers.
2. Promote agritourism and homestays to develop sustainable and community-based tourism in Himalayan regions.
3. Protect natural and cultural heritage, and promote mountain food, handicrafts, folk art, and traditional lifestyle to the country and the world.
4. Build a bridge between the Himalayas and cities, especially opening new relationships and paths with tourists from Kolkata, Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern India.
5. Support disaster-affected communities, providing new markets and opportunities for areas struggling with landslides, floods, and crises.
The festival will be held on December 11, 12, and 13, 2025, at Patna’s City Centre Mall. The timing will be from 11 am to 8 pm daily. The inauguration will be on December 11, 2025, at 2 pm.
We will have rural tourism and homestays, village products and handicrafts, classical and folk cultures, art and photography, and above all, stories of conservation and compassion from the Himalaya.
“We bring our golden oranges from the lap of the mountains – so that the Patna city can also feel the heartbeat of the Himalaya.”
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