The Eastern and North-East regions comprising over 10 States (out of 28) attracted a mere 2.6 per cent of domestic travellers, data with the Union Tourism Ministry show. However, if the aggressive marketing of the so called laggards such as Chhattisgarh, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram at the 104th edition of the travel and tourism fair which opened in the city on Friday is any indication, there is a marked improvement in the tourism scene in the region.
“There seems to be a heightened activity from the eastern and north-eastern States. Bodoland Tourism, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim and Assam have set up stalls with a good display. With peace returning to some of these States, they seem to be looking more aggressively towards promoting their tourism,” Sanjiv Agarwal, Founder and CEO of Fairfest Media Ltd told Business Line . Fairfest is the organiser of the fair. According to Agarwal, tour operators across the country are geared up to tap the footloose Bengalis by “aggressive marketing and bright display”.
Some of the usual favourites like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan and Kerala, came in with large delegations.
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“It is a well recognised fact that Bengalis account for a large chunk of domestic tourists. This season is, in fact, called the Bengali season in many hill stations. Tour operators are gearing up to tap this segment in a big way,” Agarwal said. However, there seems to be a missing link in this largely attractive tourism story of the region.
West Bengal, which accounts for a majority of the 2.6 per cent share enjoyed by eastern States in domestic tourism, was conspicuous by its absence this year. Interestingly, last year State Tourism Minister Rachpal Singh had at the same venue accused the organisers of wooing away the tourists from the State.
“The State Government informed us that they will be unable to participate as the dates were clashing. We have, however, given 50 per cent discount to stalls which are exclusively marketing destinations in West Bengal,” Agarwal said.
When asked for the reasons for its absence, Vikram Sen, Principal Secretary and Chairman of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation, said the event date of the fair clashed with another event that the State Government was engaged in. The state tourism department was participating in a road show at Hyderabad, he added.
The Uttarakhand government also had to back out from participating in the fair due to the devastating floods in the region.
Organised by Fairfest Media, the fair brings together more than 300 participants from across the country and nine international destinations including Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Dubai, Finland, Macau, Nepal, Thailand and Turkey. The 3-day fair is expected to attract nearly 15,000 visitors this year.