Sandeep Banerjee

Somebody Utsav 2005 was the first travel and tourism expo of the North-East region. The three-day mega event was organized jointly by Assam State Tourism Department and Purbanchal Parjyatan.

The tone of the expo was set by Assam Governor Lt. Gen (Retd.) Ajay Singh. Inaugurating the expo, the Governor said, “Tourism is now the fastest growing industry in the world and a major employment provider. There is no reason why Assam and the North-East cannot reap the benefits of tourism given the enormous potential of the region.” And this was exactly the thinking that gave birth to this expo.

Assam Tourism department knows that the possibilities are immense but the need of the hour is to harness these possibilities through a holistic approach. The idea of the expo came up after participating in the South Asia Travel and Tourism Expo held at Delhi recently. Utsav 2005 brought a number of participants not only from North-East, but also from other parts of India. It included various states, travel agents and tour operators. The interaction amongst participants during the three-day event provided much needed publicity for tourism in the region. Other states, like Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh had their pavilions to woo tourists from North-East with attractive packages. Bhutan was the lone foreign participant.

An official from Assam Tourism department said that the peaceful atmosphere in the State in the recent past has resulted in rise of inflow of tourists in the State. While in 2000 altogether 1010577 tourists including international tourists visited the State, in 2001, 1010651 tourists came to the State. Out of which 6171 were foreigners. The State received 1953951 tourists in 2002 among them 6409 were international tourists. It further rose to 2286630 in 2004. There were 6613 foreign tourists among them. Assam tourism believes that potential is immense and if publicized properly, the number of tourists visiting the State will definitely go up.

The idea behind the expo was to tell every one that North-East is a fantastic tourist destination. All the notion of disturbance and turmoil are passé. But the need of the hour is to develop infrastructure and to showcase the potential.

Representatives from Tripura had their own story to tell. Tripura received nearly 3500 international tourists and more than two lakhs domestic tourists in 2004. Most of the tourists coming to Tripura are from Delhi, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Transit inflow to Tripura is healthy due to the fact that there is no RAP or ILP like some other North-Eastern states. But the Tripura Tourism department still laments the fact that due to paucity of funds, the publicity campaign is not up to the desired standards or else the State could have attracted more tourists. For records, Tripura offers one of the cheapest packages for the tourists in the country.

If the Meghalaya pavilion was most imaginative and attractive, Arunachal pavilion scored as the most popular pavilion in the expo. Bhutan got it all wrong. It did not bring any publicity material. It only brought religious and traditional items, exquisite Bhutanese stamps, picture post cards, etc. Later it was revealed that traders from south-eastern Bhutan participated in the expo instead tourism officials. “Since the tourism department was informed at the last moment, it could not manage to send its personnel. We were asked to double up as tourism agent of our country,” said one member of Bhutan delegation. The Bhutan traders were happy that its pavilion was an instant hit as people gathered to collect those items, which made the Bhutanese delegation happy.

Among the mainland states, Rajasthan participated in the expo. “I have realized that people are interested in Rajasthan. Our participation in Utsav 2005 is just an opening. We will keep up our focus towards North-East,” said Rajasthan leader Shreeram Bansiwal. His advice to the organizers was to include SAARC and other Asian countries in the expo.

A large number of people every year visit Tamil Nadu for treatment. But with the aim to attract North-Eastern tourists, the southern states participated in the expo. “We have something to offer to every visitor. We are talking to a large number of people here to know their choices and preferences,” said R. Perumalsamy, Asst. Director of Tamil Nadu Tourism. An office of Tamil Nadu tourism is already in Guwahati and it offers help to prospective visitors.

North East Frontier Railway and Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre also participated in the expo. There was another stall selling first yellow pages of North-East. NE Yellow Pages is an effort by J. A. Chowdhury and it was launched recently in Guwahati. The book covers the region extensively.  Another interesting participant in Utsav 2005 was North East Exxxxx. Manas National Park is a great wealth of Assam known for its breath taking beauty and long conservation history. The concept of people’s participation in conservation process is still at a nascent stage in Manas but has made a good beginning due to initiatives taken by Maozi gendri Eastern Manas Eco Tourism Society. The NGO is taking care of 200 sq km area of the park. It has set up a team of 30 volunteers for regular patrolling inside the park. The NGO is for sensible tourism for elimination of poverty.

Joint Secretary of Ministry of Tourism Amitabh Kant, who came to Guwahati for Utsav 2005, opined that the bio rich diversity, varied cultures and religions could open up new horizons for tourism in the region. Proposed rail links with ASEAN countries through the North-Eastern states can attract more tourists from abroad, said Mr. Kant.

Notwithstanding its immense potential tourism in North-East is still in infancy. Merely 0.9 per cent of domestic tourists and 0.2 per cent of international tourists visit the region. Infrastructure and proper publicity will not only increase tourist inflow in the region but also will bring a dramatic change to the present socio-economic situation in the region. Utsav 2005 is definitely a good beginning. If the good efforts are sustained, more tourists, both international and domestic will visit North-East in coming years.

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