DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN THE NORTH-EASTERN REGION

Ministry of Tourism DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN THE NORTH- EASTERN REGION प्रव तथ: 10 AUG 2026 3:01PM by PIB Delhi Ministry of Tourism as part of its ongoing endeavour, promotes various tourism destinations and products of India including the states of North Eastern region in a holistic manner, through various initiatives including promotional events, assistance to State Governments/UT Administrations for organising fairs and festivals, participation in exhibitions, websites, social media etc.

The Ministry of Tourism has been organizing International Tourism Mart (ITM) in the North Eastern Region since 2013. The ITM is an annual event designed to highlight the tourism potential of the North Eastern region for both domestic and international audiences. This event serves as a vital platform, bringing together tourism businesses and entrepreneurs from the eight North Eastern States—Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim—to foster collaboration and interactions among buyers, sellers, media, government agencies, and other stakeholders.

The latest ITM was held at Gangtok, Sikkim, from 13-16 November 2025. In addition to this the

followings steps including the initiatives under various central schemes as under:

(i) Incredible India Digital Platform-The Ministry of Tourism revamped the Incredible India website as IIDP in September 2024 to engage the visitors across web and social media platforms. The content on the Incredible India Website is available in Hindi, English and UN languages. The website features tourism destination in the North East States to promote tourism in NER.

(ii)The Ministry of Tourism promotes various tourism sites and products in North East Region in the domestic and international markets. Creative posts, Live sessions, Tweets etc., on North East destinations are posted on regular basis on the social media handles of the Ministry of Tourism. In addition, the Ministry of Tourism also produces promotional material showcasing the tourist destinations and products in North Eastern States.

(iii)Central Financial Assistance (CFA) support for organizing fairs & festivals- Ministry of Tourism provides financial assistance to State Governments/UT Administrations for organising fairs / festivals and Tourism related events under the DPPH scheme. The list of North East States to which the financial support for organizing fairs and festivals has been extended is at Annexure-II.

(iv) 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, Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI Scheme), Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD) 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 (SD2.0) 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-III.

Ministry of Tourism implements the Swachhta Action Plan (SAP) in coordination with the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti. Under SAP, the Ministry conducts cleanliness- awareness programmes, including in the North Eastern States. During 2025–26, 200 SAP activities were organized through IITTM, Central IHMs, State IHMs and FCIs under the following categories of (i) Tourist Awareness (ii) Students Awareness (iii) Stakeholders Awareness. Additionally, as directed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Ministry of Tourism observes Swachhta Pakhwada and Swachhta Hi Sewa

(SHS) every year in September and October. In 2025, 277 activities under Swachhta Pakhwada and 244 activities under SHS were carried out across India, including the North Eastern Region.

For effective air connectivity at PAN Indian basis including the States of NER, the Ministry of Civil Aviation launched the RCS-UDAN scheme to make regional air travel affordable, and the Ministry of Tourism has collaborated with it by extending Viability Gap Funding under the Champion Service Sector Scheme to improve air links to key tourist locations, including in the North Eastern Region. Under this initiative, the following NER routes have been included as Tourism RCS routes: Dibrugarh–Dimapur, Dimapur–Dibrugarh, Dimapur–Imphal, Imphal–Dimapur, Agartala–Aizawl, Aizawl–Agartala, Dibrugarh– Imphal, Imphal–Dibrugarh, Hollongi–Guwahati and Guwahati–Hollongi.

This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a reply in the Lok Sabha today.

ANNEXURE-I

The State wise Tourist Footfall:

Tourist Footfall in North-Eastern Region (NER) in 2025 S. No. Name of State Domestic Tourist Visits Foreign Tourist

(DTVs) Visits (FTVs) 1 Arunachal Pradesh 913383 4582 2 Assam 9055943 33858 3 Manipur 25281 2892 4 Meghalaya 1848239 7116 5 Mizoram 828223 11484 6 Nagaland 127428 5425 7 Sikkim 1654838 68992 8 Tripura 681103 27320Tourist Footfall in NER for January-June, 2026 S. No. Name of State DTVs FTVs 1 Arunachal Pradesh 627084 2372 2 Assam 4604112 32471 3 Manipur 12744 1219 4 Meghalaya* 515320 2516 5 Mizoram 494362 7389 6 Nagaland 27305 1131 7 Sikkim 2352725 43734 8 Tripura 384453 9424

Source: State Tourism Department *Data received from State of Meghalaya for January to March 2026 ANNEXURE-II State wise list of fairs and festivals for which CFA was extended under DPPH Scheme (in ₹ Lakh) Name of state Year Name of Fairs & Festivals Amount sanctioned Assam 2016-17 (i) Rass Mahotsav, Majuli 35.00

(ii) Bodo National Festival

(iii) Rongali Festival 2018-19 International Buddhist conference 25.00 Rongali festival 25.00 2021-22 Bhogali Festival 25.00 Rongoli festivals 25.00Arunachal 2014-15 Nyokum Festival 14.00 Pradesh 2015-16 (i) Kameng River Eco-Tourism Festival (ii) 30.00 Menchuka Adventure Festival and (iii) Orange Festival Dambuk 2017-18 (i) Tawang Festival(ii)Menchuka Adventure 40.00 Festival (iii) Orange Festival Dambuk 2018-19 Basar Confluence 3.0 Festival 20.00 2019-20 River Tribe’s Angling Festival 25.00 Butterfly Meet at MIAO 25.00 2020-21 Pedal to Pakke 25.00 2021-22 Easterly Essence Ledum Festival 25.00 Orange Festival of Music and Adventure 25.00 2022-23 Si Donyi Festival 25.00 Orange Festival 25.00 2024-25 Aroma of Arunachal Festival 50.00 2025-26 Eco Harmony 30.00 Fest of Arunachal 50.00Manipur 2014-15 Manipuri Festival and Youth, Adventure& 50.00 Water sports festival 2015-16 Manipur Sangai Festival and Youth, Adventure 50.00 and Water Sports Festival Manipur 2015 2016-17 Manipur Sangai Festival, and Youth Adventure 50.00 and Water Adventure sports festival 2017-18 Manipur Sangai Festival and “Youth Adventure 50.00 & Water Sports Festival 2019-20 Sangai Festival 25.00 Youth Adventure & Water Sports festival 25.00Meghalaya 2016-17 Wangala Dance Festival and Nongkrem Dance 42.22 Festival 2017-18 Wangala Dance Festival, Nongkrem Dance 50.00 Festival and Lasubon Festival 2018-19 Wangala Dance Festival and Nongkrem Dance 50.00 Festival 2019-20 Wangala Dance 25.00 Nongkrem Dance Festival 25.00 2021-22 Wangala Dance 25.00 Nongkrem Dance Festival 25.00 2022-23 Wangala Dance 25.00 Nongkrem Dance Festival 25.00 2023-24 Nongkrem Dance Festival 25.00 2024-25 The 100 Drums Wangala Dance Festival 2024 25.00 The Nongkrem Dance Festival 2024 16.00 2025-26 100 Drums Wangala Dance Festival 40.00 Nongkrem Dance Festival 40.00Mizoram 2014-15 Anthurium Festival, 25.00 Thalfavang Kut festival 25.00 2015-16 Anthurium Festival 25.00 ThalfavangKut Festival 25.00 2017-18 Winter Festival 25.00 Chapchar Kut 25.00 2018-19 Chapchar Kut Festival 25.00 2019-20 Anthurium Festival 25.00 Winter Festival 25.00 2020-21 Anthurium Festival 25.00 Winter Festival 25.00 2021-22 Anthurium Festival 25.00 Winter Festival 25.00 2022-23 Anthurium Festival 25.00 Winter Festival 25.00 2024-25 Winter Festival 2024 25.00 Leitlanpui Music Festival 2024 25.00 2025-26 Mizoram Travel Fest 30.00 Leitlanpui Music Festival 25.00 Winter Festival 25.00Nagaland 2014-15 Hornbil Festival, 2014 25.00 2016-17 Hornbill Festival 25.00 2017-18 Sekrenyi Festival, Hornbill Festival, Rengma’s 50.00 Ngadah Festival 2019-20 Hornbill Festival 25.00 Thuwu-Ni Festival 10.00 Sukhrunye Festival 15.00 2021-22 Hornbill Festival 20.00 The Angami’s Sekrenyi Festival 10.00 2022-23 Ahuna Festival 5.00 Runa Festival 5.00 Sekrenyi Festival 5.00 Autumn Festival at Nagaland House Kolkata 5.00 Autumn Festival at Nagaland House New Delhi 5.00 Hornbill Festival 25.00 2023-24 Autumn Festival at Nagaland House, New Delhi 10.00 Cuisine and Music Festival at Naga Heritage 25.00 Village, Kisama 2024-25 Autumn Festival at Nagaland House 30.00 Traditional Food & Folk Music Festival at 25.00 Dimapur Cultural Fair at Tzurang Valley, Mokuchung 25.00 District2025-26 Autumn Fest 25.00 Naga Wrestling 25.00 Cultural Folk and Music festival 30.00 Sikkim 2015-16 World Tourism Day, Gangtok 44.00 Sikkim Winter Carnival, Gangtok, 2016-17 World Tourism Day, Gangtok 25.00 Red Panda Winter Festival, Gangtok 25.00 2017-18 World Tourism Day, Gangtok 25.00 Red Panda Winter festival, Gangtok 25.00 2018-19 World Tourism Day 25.00 Red Panda Festival, Gangtok 25.00 2019-20 World Tourism Day, Gangtok 25.00 Red Panda Winter Festival 25.00 2020-21 Red Panda Winter Carnival 25.00 Jorethang Maghey Mela 12.50 Pelling Winter Tourism Festival 12.50 2021-22 Cherry Temi Tea & Tourism Festival Temi Tea 12.50 Gardens South Sikkim Khangchendzonga Winter Carnival Festival 12.50 Jorethang Maghey Mela 25.00 2025-26 Lampokhri Festival 20.00Tripura 2016-17 Neermahal Festival at Rajghat, Melaghar in 18.00 Sepahijala District Devali Festival at Maabari, Udaipur in Gomati District Pilak Festival at Julaibari Santirbazar in South Tripura 2019-20 Kharchi Mela 25.00 Neermahal Festival 2.00 Diwali Mela 15.00 2020-21 Bharat Bangla Festival 25.00 2022-23 Neermahal Festival 10.00 Diwali Festival 5.00 Chabimura Festival 5.00 2023-24 Neermahal Festival 9.80 Diwali Festival 9.55 Chabimura Festival 3.00 2024-25 Diwali Festival 20.00 Chabimura & Tirthamukh Festival 12.00 Ashokastami Festival 5.00 Chapchar Kut Festival 5.00 2025-26 Neermahal Festival 30.00 Diwali Festival 30.00 Chabimura & Tirthamukh Festival 20.00 ****** RK(रलीज़ आईडी: 2297053) आगंतुक पटल : 1337 इस वज्ञ को इन भाषाओ ंम पढ़: Urdu , ही , Manipuri , Bengali , Bengali-TR , Assamese , Tamil