Rising Tourism in North East

The number of tourists, both domestic as well as international tourists visiting the northeast has gone up drastically in the past few years. Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland have gained 20 to 29% more foreign tourist visitors while Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are enjoying 36 to 41% in domestic travellers.

In past, these states, stunning and unfamiliar, were rated low on tourist preference.

Tourists favoured the more tourist savvy destinations like Goa and Kerala, as for the issues like security, the need for permits and limited flight options. However, effective steps taken by the local governments, travel agencies and airlines have changed the picture of north east states regarding tourism.

There are some attractive packages offered by the agencies, these days. The government also has eased, over the past few years on the subject of protected area permit (PAP) that was required of international tourists visiting Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.

NE attracts more tourists with budget hotels

The entire north east states show a remarkable rise in the inflow of tourists. Manipur and Tripura accounted 39% rise in foreign tourists last year while Nagaland experienced massive 41% rise in the number of local travellers. The tourism industry states that the difference between the numbers of seven north-eastern states is due to the efficiency of promotional drives.

Sharat Dhall, president of Yatra.com credits this upliftment of these states to the fact that they are untouched destinations for numerous tourists. The current state of these states is also because these venues are safer and more affordable. Dhall says, “The important draw of north-eastern states is because of the budget accommodation, regardless of the fact that they are scrubby on luxury accommodation”.

According to an industry watcher, the reasons behind the growth in the number of domestic tourists in this region are sponsored allowances, for example, the leave travel allowance (LTA) for those visiting to northeast. Also that, government officials is given free flight tickets if they travel to the NE, J&K and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

A tourism ministry official stated that cultural events in this region are driving a lot of foreign and local tourists. Dhall says, “The Hornbill Festival in Nagaland is very popular and attracts tourists from across the country and overseas. Likewise the northeast states are known for western music festivals and events”.