Pune: With Maharashtra as the focus State this year , Assam Tourism is looking to increase the tourist flow with various new initiatives according to Manoj Kumar Deka , Director Of Tourism Government of Assam . He was speaking on the sidelines of Assam Tourism Road Show in Pune at Hyatt Grand Hotel.
Manoj Kumar Deka said that travelers always want to search for newer places and explore new activities . Assam is an ideal destination for such travelers with religious tourism , wildlife , nature , hills , rivers, birds etc . However the general perception about North East has been that it is unsafe with lesser connectivity. But with couple of flights to Guwahati from Mumbai and 2-3 trains connectivity is not a problem for people in Pune . Also with insurgency dying down , it is an absolutely safe place to visit. Last year 46 lakh domestic tourists and 25000 international tourists visited Assam . The maximum domestic tourists come from West Bengal, followed by Gujarat and then Maharashtra . This year we want to increase the tourist inflow by another 10 lakhs with 10,000 more international tourists. This year our focus state is Maharashtra .
He added that apart from the traditional USPs of Assam which include Kajiranga and Manas National Parks , we are promoting Tea tourism in a big way . We have 24 golf courses surrounded by tea garden and colonial style bungalows which will be a major attraction. Another focus is on river cruises across Brahmaputra . As we focus on getting in more high end tourists there is a need to improve tourist infrastructure .Taj Vivanta and Marriot are opening their hotels shortly in Guwahati . With more than 8 months of rainfall from April- October , we want to promote Monsoon Tourism . The National Parks are open from November onwards , but we also want tourists to enjoy the magical monsoons. The advantage with Assam is that it is the nerve center of NE . In addition to this almost all tourist attractions in Assam are within 3-4 hrs from Guwahati .