Tag Archives: Northeast

Addressing the 12th ITM in Kaziranga, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Tourism, GoI, said, “Northeast region has welcomed over 125 lakh domestic tourists in 2023, a significant increase from 70 lakh tourists in 2014. He attributed this surge to rapid infrastructural development in the region, including improved transportation networks, enhanced tourism facilities, and the development of new tourist sites.”

SS Dev Barman, Regional Director, Indiatourism North East, has said that the region provides an immense opportunity for medical tourism which can attract tourists from Southeast Asian countries. Besides this, he adds, the Northeast is endowed with diverse tourist attractions, biodiversity, wildlife and prominent archaeological sites, and each state has its own distinct features.

G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister for Tourism & Culture, held a review meeting with ministers and senior officials of the northeastern states on development of tourism and promotion of the culture of the region. At the meeting held in the Assamese city of Guwahati, representatives shared their commitment to the holistic and inclusive development of the tourism sector in the Northeast.

Robert Romawia Royte, Minister of State for Tourism, Sports & Youth Affairs (I/C), Mizoram, has said, “Northeast states are rich in diversity. We can promote eco-tourism and nature-based tourism here,” adding that there needs to be a circuit among the northeastern states so that by collaborating with each other, the Northeast may become a potential emerging region in the tourism sector.

In a discussion hosted by Indiatourism Guwahati on World NGO Day, panellists concurred that active participation of NGOs in the tourism sector has been a successful phenomenon in the First World, and that their role in the Northeast is evolving. ‘Such associations for the sustainable development of tourism industry has now gradually started in India,’ the MOT also Tweeted.

With a Rs438 crore project underway to upgrade it, Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala, Tripura, is all set to become the third international airport in the Northeast region of India. Government of Tripura aims to connect the state with Bangladesh and neighbouring countries. The upgrade is pegged to be completed by March end this year.

As cruise tourism gains momentum in India after a successful trial of cargo movement to Bangladesh via the inland waterways protocol route, a transboundary river cruise operation is expected to start from Kolkata in March next year through Sunderbans to Bangladesh first, and then towards the Northeast, a senior official said. SVK Reddy, Member, Inland Waterways Authority of India, during a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the city recently, said, “Bilateral secretary-level meetings between India and Bangladesh were held in October. It has been decided that one of the river cruise operators would be starting operations from March 2019 from Kolkata through Sunderbans via the protocol route to Bangladesh and then to northeast.” Abdus Samsah, Shipping Secretary, Bangladesh had earlier said that private players will be allowed to operate river cruise between the two countries, which will cover about 1,539 km. Both sides also agreed to allow private operators to run cruise to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Reddy also informed that night navigation facility has been installed up to the Indian border, while Bangladesh is expected to do the same. He said India has agreed to fund up to 80 per cent of the dredging cost in some identified stretches within Bangladesh in the Indo-Bangla protocol route to make it navigable.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is keen to conduct an educational seminar on the Northeast for its members. The association feels that there is a need for its members to learn about the Northeastern destinations and know about the ground realities of the same, to be able to sell it to their clients. Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO, said, “We are willing to organise the educational seminar for our members around India with the help of local members in Northeast, so that they are well aware of the region’s destinations. We are waiting for our members to show interest for the same to take forward the idea soon.”