GUWAHATI, April 9 — “People must be laughing at our products,” says the president of the Association of Tour Operators of North East India (ATONEI) Lata Umrey, a sad but candid admission that the North East has not yet matured as a favoured destination for tourists. This despite the fact that the region has to offer almost anything that a tourist may possible want. The problems are many.
It is to address these issues that the ATONEI, along with the North Eastern Council (NEC) is hosting a two-day North East Tourism Summit in Shillong from tomorrow. Tourism in the North East as a “gateway to prosperity”, is the them of the summit in government officials, representatives of travel and tourism agencies, consultants and academic, financial institutions, investors and entrepreneurs, promotion agencies, travel writers, et al will be present. The idea is to chart out a route to boost tourism in the region.
Tourism is the second largest foreign exchange earner in the country. But poor promotion efforts, the often misinterpreted reports of violence in the region, inadequate infrastructure and travel restrictions like the Inner Line Permit and the Restricted Area Permit have deprived the region of its fair share of tourists. According to a rough estimate, the number of domestic tourists in India is 240 million and the figure is growing at a rate of 10 per cent a year. The market for foreign tourists in the country is growing at about 5 per cent.
Addressing a press conference here today before proceeding for Shillong, the ATONEI president Lata Umrey said that the main purpose of the summit is to bring to the notice of the decision makers the hurdles before the tourism industry here. He said that an united effort is needed to overcome these obstacles. He said that the poor quality of tourism products on offer in the North East will never be able to attract international tourists.
“The entire tourism circuit has to be projected and developed properly,” Umrey said, adding that the State Governments must reorient their tourism policies in tune with the demands of the tourists.
Sounding a positive note, the president of the Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) Jyoti Kapur said that there is now a serious interest of the government to promote tourism in the region. He pointed out that connectivity and infrastructure are the two most important factors in the promotion of tourism. The North East is a virgin market waiting to be tapped, he felt. But, “We have to show how safe and secure the North East is,” he stated.
Speaking in the same vein, the president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Maharaj IS Wahi said that no government can help in creating enterprise. The private sector has to take the initiative, he stated, adding that image building is critical. “You cannot attract tourists with dirty roads,” he said.