GUWAHATI: The “6th International Tourism Mart (ITM) -2017” was inaugurated by Jagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam today. The Ministry of Tourism, in association with the North Eastern States has organised this Mart from 5-7 December, 2017.
Delivering inaugural address, Mukhi said that the International Tourism Mart will go a long way in harnessing tourism potential in the North Eastern States and called it a wonderful opportunity to showcase the unique tourism treasures of NE States.
Assam Chief Minister Sarvanand Sonowal said that recently Assam Government has enacted the ‘New Tourism Policy’ which will facilitate the tourists and other stakeholders. He said that ‘Once you visit Assam, it will steal forever’. Assam want to grow without destroying our eco-system and tourism is the most potential sector in Assam.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that connectivity and infrastructure were two problems for NE States. He hoped that due to initiatives like International Tourism Mart, very soon tourist arrivals in North Eastern States will be increased substantially.
The 6th International Tourism Mart has put the spotlight on India’s “Act East Policy”, blossoming ties with ASEAN and the larger East Asia region, home to the world’s rapidly growing economies and India’s emerging tourism markets.
Besides deliberations on promotion of tourism in the North East Region in general, keeping the objectives of the ”Act East Policy” in view, the panel discussions will focus on promoting cultural ties, people-to-people contact with countries in the ASEAN region providing enhanced connectivity to the States of North Eastern Region with India’s neighboring countries.
The 6th International Tourism Mart is an annual event organised in the North Eastern region with the objective of highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets. The earlier editions of this mart have been held in Guwahati, Tawang, Shillong, Gangtok and Imphal. It brings together the tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs from the eight North Eastern States. The event has been planned and scheduled to facilitate interaction between buyers, sellers, media, government agencies and other stakeholders.
Around 66 foreign delegates and media persons from over 28 countries including Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Tanzania, USA and the UK are participating in the mart.
Besides the foreign delegates, 50 domestic stakeholders in Tourism sector from other parts of the country and 103 sellers from the North Eastern States are participating in the Mart as well. Representatives of State Tourism Departments of these North East States are also present to showcase their tourism destinations and to interact with the delegates.