NEW DELHI: The number of tourists, both domestic and international, heading for the northeast has gone up dramatically in the past year. Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland have notched 20%-29% more foreign tourist arrivals while Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are celebrating 36%-41% increase in domestic travellers.

Till recently, these states, beautiful and unexplored as they were, rated low on tourist options. Concerned about security issues, the need for permits and limited flight options, travellers preferred to pick more tourist savvy destinations like Goa and Kerala. But effective initiatives by local governments, travel companies and airlines have changed all that.

Today, there are some attractive travel packages to the area in the market. The government has eased, over the last few years, the protected area permit (PAP) that was required of foreign tourists heading for Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.

NE woos more travellers with budget hotels

All states show an impressive rise in the inflow of travellers. Manipur and Tripura registered a 39% increase in foreign tourists inflow last year while Nagaland saw a whopping 41% rise in the number of domestic travellers. The tourism industry traces the imbalance between the figures for the seven northeastern states to the effectiveness of promotional drives.

Yatra.com president Sharat Dhall attributes this trend to the fact that the northeast is still virgin territory for most travellers. There is also the popular perception that these destinations are now safer and more affordable as well. "The north-eastern states may be sparse on luxury accommodation but they offer a lot of budget accommodation, which is an important draw," says Dhall.

According to an industry watcher government sponsored concessions — leave travel allowance (LTA) for those travelling to the northeast for example — has contributed to the growing number of domestic travellers in the region. Government officials are entitled to flight tickets if they travel to the NE, J&K and Andamans & Nicobar Islands.

A tourism ministry official added that cultural festivals and events in the northeast are pulling a lot of foreign and Indian travellers. "The Hornbill Festival in Nagaland is very popular and draws people from across the country and overseas. Similarly the northeast states are known for western music festivals and events," says Dhall.

