NEW DELHI: The Centre’s new tourism initiative may open up vast opportunities for the northeastern states, which have been planning to big for the sector.
The Tourism Ministry is taking steps to promote Buddhist circuits and planning direct flights to Buddhist countries in neighbouring South and South East Asia to woo around 490 million tourists of the same faith across the world.
Tourism Minister KJ Alphons said the government will enhance infrastructure and improve road and air connectivity.
The ministry’s proposal to open up new entry points into India through Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh is under “active consideration” of the Home Ministry, sources said.
Plans to develop tourist facilities while simultaneously relaxing or removing, where possible, the existing ‘inner line permit’ mechanism needed for entering India through the North East are also afoot.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has also finalised a decision to start a VietJet direct flight between Hanoi and New Delhi from October following talks with Vietnam, Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma said.
“A large number of Buddhist tourists from Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam want to visit India but cannot either because the entry processes are restrictive or because of poor connectivity.
We have, as a result, taken up these matters with the home and civil aviation ministries in an attempt to ramp up tourist arrivals in the country,” she added.
The NE region borders Buddhist countries of Bhutan and Nepal.
Earlier, Alphons held an interactive session with ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of various countries in Delhi.
The participants highlighted the importance of improving connectivity to promote tourism and a few countries requested for direct Air India flights connecting the capital cities of various countries to India.
India is even looking at China as an emerging market for foreign tourist arrivals and the Tourism Ministry has already set up its office in Beijing. The government is working to tap the potential of Buddhist tourism.
The Ministry of Tourism has identified Buddhist Circuit as one of the thematic circuits under its flagship ‘Swadesh Darshan’ Scheme for development of infrastructure with the help of state governments or private stakeholders.
There is a large number of Buddhist followers in India, besides lakhs of Tibetans who are settled in various parts.
