Centre develops tourism in North Eastern Region

Imphal, May 10: The Ministries of DoNER and Tourism have taken up specific initiatives to develop tourism in the North Eastern region.

Official sources said review of tourism sector projected by the Union Tourism Ministry on July 3 last year in Guwahati and on April 10 this year in New Delhi gave an impetus to the implementation of tourism-related infrastructure projects, the Manipur Information Centre(MIC) stated.

The recently concluded 4th sectoral summit of the NEC to review tourism and hospitality sector at Gangtok during April 27-28 was a landmark summit that could come out with the 'Gangtok Declaration on the Tourism and Hospitality Sector,' MIC officials said.

Sources said the DoNER and the Union Home Ministry also carried out an intensive review in consultation with the North Eastern states on April 24 this year and decided that proposals received from some of the states for relaxation of Protected Area Permit(PAP)/Restricted Area Permit(RAP) would be processed within the next 15 days.

Representatives of the Asom government stated that they would not support re-imposition of any restrictions which were lifted in 1995.

At the Gangtok Summit, Union Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni announced the establishment of hotel management institutes in all those NE states which did not have any such institutions.

The Summit concluded that there should be formulation of state tourism circuits, inter-state tourism circuits, eco and village tourism and advocacy, launch of a professionally prepared publicity programme on security for tourists, sponsoring of NE promotional films aimed at students in other parts of the country and setting up of a North-East Tourism Development Corporation.

It also mentioned about launching of an exclusive airline for establishing connectivity within the NE states, providing connectivity with Nepal, Bhutan, Dhaka, Yangon, Bangkok, Kunming for the promotion of regional tourism, organising promotional events aimed at government servants for LTC visits to tourism destinations in the NE and relaxation of PAP/RAP restrictions on the entry of foreign nationals into the NE states.

The Summit maintained that Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh would also consider simplification of procedures for issue of ILPs so that government employees would be allowed to enter the states on production of official identity proof.

UNI