Island Tourism Festival, popularly abbreviated as ITF, is an annual festival of Andaman and Nicobar Islands exhibiting grandeur and cultural extravaganza. Andaman and Nicobar Administration organizes this event every year in the months of December- January. Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, serves as the centre of this fourteen day carnival. It mainly focuses on showcasing various developmental activities and future projects in the Island under Andaman and Nicobar Administration. The event also aims at boosting the tourism.
Various exhibitions are organized during Island Tourism Festival which invites a number of private entrepreneurs and government agencies from the islands as well as from mainland India. These agencies not only visit the event but also participate in it for endorsing their trade. Apart form this, the festival hosts a number of engrossing cultural events. Apart form the main venue of Island Tourism Festival, cultural programs are held in different venues. These events are organized by various departments including Arts, Sports and Cultural Departments and encompass varied activities. Cultural troupes and artists hail form different regions in the festival. Performers of national as well as international fame are invited in ITF to exhibit their superlative skills. Dance, music, drama and exhibitions of wondrous and artistic artefacts are some of the major attractions of the festival. Apart from art and craft, exhibitions of varied flora, fauna and marine life can also be witnessed in ITF. Several programs in the carnival focus on the local and tribal folks displaying their art and culture.
Island Tourism Festival also caters the adventure lovers greatly. Water sports competition such as Nicobari Hodi Race, Canoe Race, Parasailing, Boating and Scuba Diving forms a special feature of the carnival. In addition to these, several other programs are organized in the islands that make the festival highly popular and alluring. Some of such fascinating features are Dog show, Baby show, Puppet show and Magic show. A floating restaurant forms another attraction of ITS which is visited by numerous tourists and visitors during the carnival.
Island Tourism Festival promotes the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as an eco friendly and magnificent tourist destination. It also serves to connect the island with the mainland India through cultural and social intermingling in the festival. The festival forms an ideal event to experience the unique lifestyle of the place and reflects various cultural aspects prevalent among the residents.