Lok Sabha Question No. 959 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-29
Subject: Tourism in  the North-Eastern Region
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Shri Kamakhya Prasad Tasa

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.959 ANSWERED ON 29.07.2024

## TOURISM IN THE NORTH-EASTERN REGION

## 959  SHRI KAMAKHYA PRASAD TASA:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that the  Government is providing adequate services to promote tourism in the North-Eastern Region;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  total  number  of  tourists  both  domestic  and  foreign  who visited the North-Eastern States during the last year; and
- (d) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  create  a barrier  free  environment  for  growth  of  tourism  in  the  NorthEastern region?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM     (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) & (b): Ministry  of  Tourism  promotes  India  in  a  holistic  manner, through various initiatives under its Schemes of 'Domestic Promotion & Publicity including Hospitality' (DPPH) and 'Overseas Promotion & Publicity  (OPP)'.    As  part  of  its  on-going  activities;  it  regularly releases print, electronic, online and outdoor media campaigns in the international  markets,  to  promote  various  tourism  destinations  and products  of  India  including  North  Eastern  Region.    The  Ministry  of Tourism  also  regularly  promotes  various  tourism  destinations  and products through its website and social media promotions.

Ministry  of  Tourism  has  been  organizing  International  Tourism Mart  (ITM)  in  the  North  Eastern  Region  to  showcase  the  tourism potential  of  North  Eastern  States  of  India.  ITMs  have  been  held  at Shillong  (Meghalaya),  Gangtok  (Sikkim),  Imphal  (Manipur),  Guwahati (Assam), Agartala (Tripura), Kohima (Nagaland) and Aizawl (Mizoram).

The last i.e. 11th edition of ITM was held in Shillong (Meghalaya) from 21st to 23rd, November, 2023.

The Ministry  of  Tourism  through  its  Central  Institutes  of  Hotel Management (CIHMs) at Guwahati and Shillong, which are Autonomous  Bodies,  imparts  professional  education  and  training  in the field of hospitality to create a pool of manpower sufficient to meet the needs of the tourism and hospitality industry, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

In  addition,  Ministry  of  Tourism  under  its  scheme  Capacity Building  for  Service  Providers  (CBSP)  has  undertaken  various  skill development programs to provide education, training and certification to the tourism service providers covering different levels of Hospitality sector. The main objective of this initiative is to train and up-grade  manpower  at  every  strata  of  tourism  service  providers  in order  to  capitalize  the  vast  tourism  potential  of  the  country  to  the fullest,  and  provide  professional  expertise  to  the  local  populace  as well as create fresh opportunities in the tourism sector both in urban as well as rural areas. This scheme is being run through the Central IHMs  at  Guwahati  &  Shillong,  State  IHMs  in  Sikkim,  Food  Craft Institutes  in  Assam  &  Meghalaya,  Camp  office  of  Indian  Institute  of Tourism  &  Travel  Management  at  Shillong  and  through  11  Private institutes.

Ministry  of  Tourism  under  the  schemes  of  'Swadesh  Darshan', 'National  Mission  on  Pilgrimage  Rejuvenation  and  Spiritual  Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)', 'Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development' provides financial assistance to State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations/ Central Agencies for the development of tourism related infrastructure and facilities at various  tourism  destinations  in  the  country  including  North  Eastern Region.

The  Ministry  of  Tourism  has  now  revamped  the  Swadesh Darshan Scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD 2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations, following a destination & tourism centric approach.

The  details  of  projects  sanctioned  under  the  above  mentioned schemes in North Eastern region are given at Annexure.

- (c): Details  of  Domestic  Tourist  Visits  (DTVs)  and  Foreign  Tourist Visits (FTVs) of North eastern States for the year 2023 are below: -
- (d): Effective  and  adequate  connectivity  is  one  of  the  important aspect for developing a tourist destination. For this purpose, Ministry of Civil  Aviation,  Government  of  India  has  launched  RCS-UDAN scheme, whose primary objective is to facilitate/stimulate regional air connectivity by making it affordable. Ministry of Tourism has collaborated  with  the  Ministry  of  Civil  Aviation  to  extend  financial support in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the Champion Service Sector Scheme (CSSS), with the purpose of further improving connectivity to important tourist places including Iconic sites.

| (In thousand)                        | (In thousand)                        | (In thousand)                        |
|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| States/ UTs                          | DTV (P)                              | FTV (P)                              |
| Arunachal Pradesh                    | 1040.6                               | 4.5                                  |
| Assam                                | 7612.7                               | 23.8                                 |
| Manipur                              | 57.7                                 | 3.7                                  |
| Meghalaya                            | 1371.7                               | 20.0                                 |
| Mizoram                              | 209.1                                | 3.8                                  |
| Nagaland                             | 99.7                                 | 4.7                                  |
| Sikkim                               | 1321.2                               | 93.9                                 |
| Tripura                              | 366.1                                | 66.7                                 |
| P: Provisional                       | P: Provisional                       | P: Provisional                       |
| Source: State/UTs Tourism Department | Source: State/UTs Tourism Department | Source: State/UTs Tourism Department |

## Following routes from the States of NER have been included in Tourism RCS Routes:

|   Sl. No. | Route                                    |
|-----------|------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Dibrugarh to Dimapur                     |
|         2 | Dimapur to Dibrugarh                     |
|         3 | Dimapur to Imphal                        |
|         4 | Imphal to Dimapur                        |
|         5 | Agartala to Aizawl                       |
|         6 | Aizawl to Agartala                       |
|         7 | Dibrugarh to Imphal                      |
|         8 | Imphal to Dibrugarh                      |
|         9 | Hollongi (Arunachal Pradesh to Guwahati) |
|        10 | Guwahati to Hollongi (Arunachal Pradesh) |

*****

## ANNEXURE

STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) AND (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.959 ANSWERED ON 29.07.2024 REGARDING TOURISM IN THE NORTH-EASTERN REGION RAISED BY SHRI KAMAKHYA PRASAD TASA.

## Swadesh Darshan Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | State/UT          | Circuit / Sanction Year    | Name of the Project                                                                                                                      |   Amount Sanctioned |   Amount Released |
|-----------|-------------------|----------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
|         1 | Arunachal Pradesh | North-East Circuit 2014-15 | Development of Bhalukpong- Bomdila and Tawang                                                                                            |               49.77 |             47.28 |
|         2 | Arunachal Pradesh | North East Circuit 2015-16 | Development of Nafra- Seppa- Pappu, Pasa, Pakke Valleys- Sangdupota- New Sagalee- Ziro- Yomcha                                           |               96.72 |             91.88 |
|         3 | Assam             | Wildlife Circuit 2015-16   | Development of Manas- Probitora- Nameri- Kaziranga- Dibru- Saikhowa                                                                      |               94.68 |             89.94 |
|         4 | Assam             | Heritage Circuit 2016-17   | Development of Tezpur - Majuli - Sibsagar                                                                                                |               90.98 |             90.97 |
|         5 | Manipur           | North-East Circuit 2015-16 | Development of Tourist Circuit in Manipur: Imphal- Khongjom                                                                              |               72.23 |             61.32 |
|         6 | Manipur           | Spiritual Circuit 2016-17  | Development of Shri Govindajee Temple, Shri BijoyGovindajee Temple - Shri Gopinath Temple - Shri Bungshibodon Temple - Shri Kaina Temple |               45.34 |             45.33 |
|         7 | Meghalaya         | North East                 | Development of                                                                                                                           |               99.13 |             99.11 |

|    |           | Circuit 2016-17             | Umium (Lake View), U LumSohpetbneng- Mawdiangdiang - Orchid Lake Resort                                                                                                                                                      |       |       |
|----|-----------|-----------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|
|  8 | Meghalaya | North East Circuit 2018-19  | Development of West Khasi Hills (Nongkhlaw- KremTirot - Khudoi&Kohmang Falls - Khri River- Mawthadraishan, Shillong), Jaintia Hills (Krang Suri Falls- Shyrmang- Iooksi), Garo Hills (Nokrek Reserve, KattaBeel, Siju Caves) | 84.97 | 84.96 |
|  9 | Mizoram   | North East Circuit          | Development of Thenzawl& South Zote, District Serchhip and Reiek.                                                                                                                                                            | 92.26 | 92.26 |
| 10 | Mizoram   | 2015-16 Eco Circuit 2016-17 | Development of Eco- Adventure Circuit Aizawl -Rawpuichhip - Khawhphawp - Lengpui - Chatlang- Sakawrhmuituaitlang - Muthee - Beratlawng -Tuirial Airfield - Hmuifang                                                          | 66.37 | 53.09 |
| 11 | Nagaland  | Tribal Circuit 2015-16      | Development of Tribal Circuit Peren- Kohima- Wokha                                                                                                                                                                           | 97.36 | 97.36 |
| 12 | Nagaland  | Tribal Circuit 2016-17      | Development of Mokokchung- Tuensang-Mon                                                                                                                                                                                      | 98.14 | 98.14 |
| 13 | Sikkim    | North East Circuit          | Development of Tourist Circuit linking Rangpo(entry)                                                                                                                                                                         | 98.05 | 97.41 |

|    |         | 2015-16                    | - Rorathang- Aritar- Phadamchen- Nathang-Sherathang- Tsongmo- Gangtok- Phodong- Mangan- Lachung-Yumthang- Lachen- Thangu- Gurudongmer- Mangan- Gangtok- TuminLingee- Singtam (exit)   |       |       |
|----|---------|----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|
| 14 | Sikkim  | North East Circuit 2016-17 | Development of Tourist Circuit Linking Singtam- Maka- Temi- BermoikTokel- Phongia- Namchi - Jorthang- Okharey- Sombaria-Daramdin- Jorethang- Melli (Exit)                             | 95.32 | 95.32 |
| 15 | Tripura | North East Circuit 2015-16 | Development of Agartala - Sipahijala - Melaghar - Udaipur - Amarpur- Tirthamukh- Mandirghat- Dumboor- NarikelKunja- Gandachara-                                                       | 82.85 | 77.76 |
| 16 | Tripura | North East Circuit 2018-19 | Ambassa Development of SurmaCherra- Unakoti- Jampui Hills- Gunabati - Bhunaneshwari- Neermahal- Boxanagar- Chottakhola- Pilak- Avangchaarra                                           | 44.83 | 35.25 |

## Swadesh Darshan 2.0

## (Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | State/UT          | Destination   | Interventions Name                           |   Sanctioned Cost |
|-----------|-------------------|---------------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|         1 | Sikkim            | Gangtok       | Gangtok Cultural Village                     |             22.59 |
|         2 | Meghalaya         | Sohra         | Meghalayan age Cave Experience               |             32.45 |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh | Mechuka       | Mechuka Cultural Haat                        |             18.48 |
|         4 | Assam             | Kokrajhar     | Kokrajhar Wetland Experience                 |             26.67 |
|         5 | Assam             | Jorhat        | Reimagining Cinnamara Tea Estate             |             23.91 |
|         6 | Sikkim            | Gyalshing     | Eco-Wellness Experience at Yuksom Cluster    |             15.4  |
|         7 | Arunachal Pradesh | Nacho         | Unlock Nacho Expedition                      |             14.02 |
|         8 | Arunachal Pradesh | Mechuka       | Mechuka Adventure Park                       |             12.75 |
|         9 | Meghalaya         | Sohra         | Waterfall Trails experience                  |             27.84 |
|        10 | Nagaland          | Chumoukedima  | Tribal Cultural Experience at Midway Retreat |             21.56 |

## PRASHAD Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | Name of the State   | Project Name                                                                     | Sanctioned Year   |   Sanctioned Cost |   Released Cost |
|-----------|---------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------|
|         1 | Arunachal Pradesh   | Development of ParshuramKund, LohitDistt.                                        | 2020-21           |             37.88 |           21.95 |
|         2 | Assam               | Development of Kamakhya Temple and Pilgrimage Destination in and around Guwahati | 2015-16           |             29.8  |           29.8  |
|         3 | Meghalaya           | Development of                                                                   | 2020-21           |             29.29 |           24.92 |

|    |          | Pilgrimage Facilitation in Meghalaya                                                      |         |       |       |
|----|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|-------|-------|
|  4 | Mizoram  | Development of Infrastructure for Pilgrimage and Heritage Tourism in the State of Mizoram | 2022-23 | 44.89 |  6.52 |
|  5 | Nagaland | Development of Pilgrimage Infrastructure in Nagaland                                      | 2018-19 | 25.2  | 21.33 |
|  6 | Nagaland | Development of Pilgrimage Tourism Infrastructure at Zunheboto                             | 2022-23 | 18.18 | 10.9  |
|  7 | Sikkim   | Development of Pilgrimage Facilitation at Four Patron Saints, Yuksom                      | 2020-21 | 33.32 | 28.31 |
|  8 | Tripura  | Development of Tripura Sundari Temple, Udaipur                                            | 2020-21 | 37.8  | 25.62 |

## Assistance  to  Central  Agencies  for  Tourism  Infrastructure  Development Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | Name of State                                    | Year     | Name of Project                                                                                                      | Agency   |   Amount Sanctioned |   Amount Released |
|-----------|--------------------------------------------------|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|---------------------|-------------------|
|         1 | Assam (Neamati, Pandu, Jogighopa&Bis wanathghat) | 2019- 20 | Ministry of Tourism has accorded approval for continuation of the development of 4 nos jetties in NW-2 (Brahmaputra) | IWAI     |               28.03 |              7.01 |
|         2 | Mizoram                                          | 2020- 21 | Development of Convention                                                                                            | WAPCOS   |               39.95 |             27.69 |

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|    |       |          | Centre and associated Infrastructure at Aizawl, Mizoram                                                                                                                                                                                                   |                      |       |       |
|----|-------|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|-------|-------|
|  3 | NER   | 2022- 23 | Development of 22 viewpoints in North Eastern States (i) Nagaland (2 view points) (ii) Meghalaya (3 view points) (iii) Mizoram (9 view points) (iv) Arunachal Pradesh (4 view points) (v) Manipur (3 view points) (vi) Sikkim/We st Bengal (1 view point) | NHIDCL               | 44.44 | 27.06 |
|  4 | Assam | 2018- 19 | Joint Development of Kamakhya Railway Station                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Ministry of Railways |  4.96 |  4.02 |
|  5 | Assam | 2018- 19 | Joint Development of Guwahati Railway Station                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Ministry of Railways |  4.99 |  4.34 |