Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct. 19: The Astro Tourism Guide Training Workshop, organised by the Andaman & Nicobar Tourism Department in collaboration with the Open Space Foundation, C-STERC, continued with an engaging second day of immersive learning sessions led by Ms. Anupama Pradeepan and Shri Bharat Kumar Velusamy, Astronomy Educators and ISRO Space Tutors, supported by Shri Uday Bhasker, Founder & Astro Communicator at Andaman Stargazing.
The day began with in-depth sessions on Dark Sky Preservation and Light Pollution Awareness, where participants explored the science and policies behind protecting pristine skies and sustainable astro-tourism practices. This was followed by solar observation activities, introducing the concept of daytime astronomy and its potential for enriching tourism experiences.
Participants also gained confidence in telescope handling and alignment, learning to independently focus celestial and solar objects, and further strengthened their skills in using Stellarium software for planning night sky observation sessions.
In the afternoon, a detailed session on Astro-Tourism Opportunities and Experience Design guided participants through the step-by-step process of site management, itinerary planning, and the integration of AI tools for developing branding materials, posters, and social media content to enhance astro-tourism outreach.
The day concluded with an interactive workshop where participants, working in teams, began designing their own 1-day Astro Tourism itineraries for the A&N Islands.