GUWAHATI, March 13 ? The North-east with its unparalleled scenic beauty, rich cultural heritage and abundant wildlife can emerge as a major tourist destination provided infrastructural bottlenecks are removed and opportunities given to the private sector for investment in tourism. Making above observation, Sri BK Goswami, former Secretary of Tourism, Government of India, today said that participation of the private sector can give the much-needed thrust to the tourism industry in the State while the Government should take the role of a pro-active facilitator. Sri Goswami is now acting as adviser to the Spectrum Planning India Limited which is preparing a blueprint for promotion of tourism in the three north-eastern States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, and on the feasibility for investment in the sector. The North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi) has entrusted Spectrum with the project.
In an exclusive interview with The Assam Tribune, Sri Goswami who was also a Director General, Tourism, Government of India, said that he has identified three tourism circuits ? pilgrim, wildlife and adventure ? as thrust areas in Assam. Stating that a major part of domestic tourists in the country falls in the pilgrim circuit, he said Assam has lots of pilgrimage centres scattered across the State like the Kamakhya, Umananda, Hoygrib Madhav, Poamecca, etc and if some amount of care is taken in the upkeep of these centres, tourists are bound to come. The surroundings of the centres should be kept clean, he added. Citing an example, he said the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and which used to draw about one million tourists every year till 1986, now has five million tourists visiting it for the last four years. Besides the impact these tourists have on the economy of the area is tremendous, he said. In Jammu, tourists spend Rs 400 crore per year in shopping alone. To cater to the needs of the tourists, different industries also come up. People of the area near the Vaishno Devi shrine have taken to vegetable-growing in a big way, he said.
Stressing that the Brahmaputra river can be a major tourist attraction, Sri Goswami said private parties should be encouraged to start river cruise with modern facilities. A similar venture in Kerala is doing wonders, he said. Assam with its innumerable hills, rivers and jungles provides immense scope for adventure tourism, Sri Goswami said. This circuit can target the foreign tourists who are very much fond of river rafting, trekking, angling, etc he added. He also suggested how the tea industry could be made a major tourist attraction. ?Tea and tourism should be married,? he said and stressed the need for organising tours to tea estates to familiarise the tourists with the tea-manufacturing process. In many wine-producing countries, similar ?wine tours? have proved to be very popular with tourists, he said.
Stating that way-side amenities are lacking in Assam, Sri Goswami said there was big scope for private sector investment in this regard. Holding the dearth of publicity material as another factor retarding tourism promotion, he said in this age of information technology, more and more websites on tourism of the State should be opened. He also spoke of the need to have evening entertainment programmes for tourists that should project the cultural heritage of the local people.
On the infrastructural front, Goswami said good roads were a must to attract tourists and there should be proper connectivity of various places. He also underscored the need for upgradation of hotel management in the State, saying technical competence and skills of the professionals should be honed. Terming the launch of international flights from the LGB Airport here as long overdue, Sri Goswami said foreign tourists will now be more inclined to visit the North-east because of easy connectivity. Buddhist monasteries in Assam and Arunachal should be used to attract tourists from South East Asia, he added. Sri Prabakar Rao, CEO of Spectrum Planning India Ltd, said while promoting tourism three aspects should always be given utmost importance ? hygiene, schedule of programmes and communication facilities.