Gursharan Jeet Kaur [ Architect-Urban Planner, Structural and Architecture Department, Engineers India Limited, New Delhi ]

Gopal Kumar Johari [Senior Lecturer, Guru Ram Dass School of Planning, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar]

LOOKING EAST - TOURISM IN NORTH EAST INDIA

ABSTRACT

The entire tourism industry and its infrastructure is an area of unlimited business potential, contributing to employment generation and increased revenue earnings. This is an area where immediate benefits can be reaped. The breath-taking beauty of North East has prompted many comparisons like the "Scotland of the East" and "Switzerland of India". The region of northeastern States has real competitive advantages over other tourist destinations of the country that attract tourists throughout the year. These are rich bio-diversity - flora, fauna, forest, medicinal and aromatic plants; immense cultural diversity; tremendous ethnic diversity - people and their traditions; mountains, rolling hills, forests, lakes, valleys, rivers; variety of village life fold and livelihood options, rural diversity; diversity of religious celebrations; raj nostalgia associated with the tea industry and Gateway to South East Asia.

But economic backwardness and lack of infrastructure are other major reasons impeding the growth of tourism along with the lack of a joint strategy for the region as a whole. Additionally, the need for a concerted effort to develop a tourist circuit linking the various sites of interest in packages for the entire North East as a tourist destination has not been taken up in right earnest.

For several decades, the economic integration of the northeastern States with the rest of the country often referred to as the national mainstream, in order to aid the development of this underdeveloped region is being talked off. As part of the efforts to integrate the region with the rest of India, emphasis was laid on improving rail, road and air connectivity. The focus has now shifted to transnational and sub-regional cooperation between India and South-East Asian countries as it is seen as the only way to bail out the region from its state of underdevelopment and political crisis. Tourism is one of the opportunities that the northeastern States can utilize in cross border economic activities between India and member countries of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

India has opened up to the potential of economic integration of its northeastern region through joint economic co-operation and development with mainland Southeast Asia. India has finally begun to realize that economic integration of its Northeast with Southeast Asia will foster the region’s political integration with India. But no meaningful cooperation with mainland Southeast Asia is possible unless India establishes connectivity between its northeastern states and the rest of India as well as parts of Southeast Asia. India’s land-locked northeast need to have access to the outside world and this is possible only if it is linked with mainland Southeast Asia just beyond its borders.

Therefore this paper is an attempt to highlight the potential of the area as tourist destination and the prime segments of tourism in the area like Wild life Tourism & Eco-tourism, River Tourism, Tea & Golf Tourism, Pilgrimage & Cultural Tourism, Rural Tourism and Heritage Tourism. It will also highlight the policy initiatives taken up by the government in order to improve the tourist inflow which includes both domestic as well as international and development of tourist circuits with infrastructural facilities viz., roads, power, tourist complexes, hotels etc. as a pre requisite for the development of the region. It will also emphasize on issues related to infrastructure be it transport by road, air or sea communications and efficient intra country and inter country connectivity. It will also address the issues of public private partnership for large investments for infrastructure development and for sustainable growth of tourism.

INTRODUCTION

Tourism is gaining importance in the world day by day as the most potential sector for building relationship among different countries. Exploration being the zeal of the people today every nook and corner of the world is bound to be focused every day through the medium of tourism. Tourism in today's world is no more a luxury or sight seeing. It is motivated by the natural urge for new experience, adventure, education and entertainment regarding different cultures, life styles and environments. These motivations include social, religious and business interests. The basic human thirst for new experience and knowledge is enhanced with recent advances in transportation and information technology in the 21^st century and has made tourism industry to undergo a significant change. Now even a common man has attained the status of a tourist and enabled to reach even the remotest parts of the earth. Tourism Industry has given birth to a number of secondary and tertiary activities; provided new career opportunities in hospitality, leisure and surface transport, gainfully employing thousands of people and fetching several crores of rupees in foreign exchange year after year.

Tourism has generated employment in different parts of the country. Besides creating opportunities for tourist guides, conducted tours, establishment of hotels, and so many other avenues in the tertiary sector, tourism can be a major source of employment in North east Region. It is argued that every domestic tourist can generate direct and indirect employment of three persons, and this can be higher (seven) in the case of inflow of every foreign tourist. It is also projected that every one million rupees invested in tourism, 47.9 direct jobs can be created, besides, of course, creating more avenues for indirect employment.

Tourism is one economic sector in India that has the potential to grow at a high rate and can ensure consequential development of the infrastructure of the destinations. It has the capacity to capitalize on the country’s success in the services sector and provide sustainable models of growth. But the major constraint in the expansion of international tourist traffic to India is poor visitor experience, particularly, due to inadequate infrastructural facilities, including inadequate air seat capacity, inaccessibility to tourist destinations, poor accommodation and lack of trained manpower in sufficient number, unhygienic conditions and incidents of touting and harassment of tourists in some places.

Over the years, North-East has emerged as a popular tourist destination and tourists are gradually finding it more and more interesting. The natural beauty, the environment, the flora and fauna of the state is unique. Its large bio-diversity, rolling hills, green valleys, virgin forests, the mighty river Brahmaputra and its tributaries, -all these make these North Eastern States a major hub for Tourism. The colourful lifestyle of its different tribes has a long history of diverse and unique cultural heritage. Their traditional art, culture and crafts are very attractive and these are sources of great attraction for both domestic and international tourists.

This international forum “NORTH EAST INDIA – A GATEWAY TO SOUTH EAST ASIA: PROSPECTS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT- NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES” will definitely play a positive role in expansion of tourism from South Ease Asian Countries by providing opportunities to unfold the rich culture and heritage of the North Eastern States.

ABOUT NORTH EAST INDIA

North East India accounts for 7.9% of the total land space of the country with a total area of 262185square kilometers and comprises of:

·         Arunachal Pradesh

·         Assam

·         Manipur

·         Meghalaya

·         Mizoram

·         Nagaland

·         Sikkim

·         Tripura

The region is of strategic importance for the country on account of the fact that nearly 90% of its borders form India's international boundaries. The Macmahon line separates North East India from Tibet. This region is connected with the rest of India only through a narrow corridor in North Bengal, having an approximate width of 33 km on the eastern side and 21 km on the western side. This narrow corridor is popularly known as the "Siliguri neck" or the "Chicken's neck". Table no. 1 shows the different countries maring the international boundaries of the region.

Table No.1: International Boundaries

Topography: About 70% of the region is hilly, and the topography varies within each state. Hill ranges forming part of the Himalayas guard the northern side of the region. Mountains and hills cover most of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Sikkim and about half of Tripura, one-fifth of Assam and nine-tenth of Manipur. The topography of these hills is generally rugged and vast areas are inaccessible. The plains of the region are mainly made up of separate landmasses - the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak Valley in Assam and the Tripura plains in the South. In Manipur, the valley is small, comprising only about 10% of the total area of the state. The Brahmaputra Valley stretches longitudinally for about 730 km, from North Lakhimpur to Dhubri district in Assam. The Barak Valley, formed by the river Barak and its tributaries covers the districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi of South Assam. The Tripura plain is an extension of the Ganga-Brahmaputra plain.

Rainfall: The rainy season in this region generally starts from March and lasts till the middle of October. The total annual rainfall varies significantly in the region. In Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the annual intensity of rainfall reaches the maximum of about 1080-cm around Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram (having highest rainfall in the world). It is significantly low in the rain shadow area of Nagaon district in Assam. About two-thirds of the annual total rainfall occurs during the four monsoon months of June to September.

Demography: At present, as per Census2001, the population of the NE region is around 39 million, which is 3.75 percent of the total population of the country. Table no. 2 depicts the total population and rural and urban population percentage as compared to whole of India.

Table No. 2: Comparison of Rural and Urban population of North Eastern States with India

(Source: Census data, 2001)

The region is marked by uneven spatial distribution of population among the constituent states, the primary reason being that the plains and valleys offer more congenial conditions for absorption of population than the hills and difficult terrains. The following Table no.3 shows the population density of east state that comprises the region.

Table No. 3: Population density of each state in North East

(Source: Census data, 2001)

Table no. 4: Special Characteristics of the North East Region

RELATION WITH SOUTH EAST ASIA

India’s landlocked Northeast comprises the seven states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. They are connected with the rest of India by the 22 kilometer-wide Siliguri corridor and is often seen as India’s “Mongoloid fringe”. Lying at the crossroads of South and Southeast Asia, this region is ethnically, linguistically, and culturally distinct from the so-called “Aryan-Dravidian mainstream” India. In fact, the 32 million people of this Indian region share more commonalities with their Southeast Asian counterparts than with their fellow men and women in the rest of India. This region is also home to over 200 ethnic and tribal groups who belong to the Southeast Asian culture zone that includes the Assam Valley, northern parts of Myanmar and Thailand, and the Yunnan province of China. Unlike their counterparts in the rest of India who speak languages belonging to the Indo-European and Dravidian family of languages, a large number of people from the northeast speak languages belonging to the Sino-Tibetan/Tibetan-Burmese family of languages. Myanmar, which is geographically contiguous with parts of northeast India stretching over 1,600km, forms the land bridge that connects India with Southeast Asia.

In South Asia, India occupies a place of great significance. India is emerging as a strong economic force not only in the region but has the potential to compete with the economically developed countries in the west as also China and Japan in the East. The country visualizes the importance and essentially of engagement with the countries in the South East Asia and its Look East Policy is in conformity with its avowed objectives of establishing and enlarging trade links and relations with the countries in the region.

ATTRACTIONS IN NORTH EAST REGION

NATURE

The North Eastern part of India is almost another world. It is a place of magical beauty and bewildering diversity. A land nestled in myths and mysteries, lore and legends and in many tender dreams. A land where the summer rains drench the hills meeting the misty plains, where exotic wildlife haunts the jungles, where flow rivers like the Brahmaputra, the Barak and the Imphal and where the trains whistle into dark tunnels only to open out to breathtaking landscapes.

The region has a temperate climate and is comparatively cooler than the mainland India and can be projected as the complete destination for visitors during the summer months. Winters too are not that severe in most parts of the region. The pollution-free environment can be an attraction, which the North East has in abundance. Nature has endowed the region with such enormous geographical diversity that it can be a major attraction for those looking out for adventure like white water rafting, mountaineering, rock climbing, trekking and hiking, wind surfing etc. The Himalayan range of Arunachal Pradesh with its snowcapped mountains, the worlds' highest rainfall at Sohra (Cherrapunjee) Meghalaya, the one-horned rhino at Kaziranga and Manas, the unique phenomenon of birds committing suicide in the Jatinga hills are some of the diverse attractions for nature lovers.

The breath-taking beauty of North East has prompted many comparisons like the "Scotland of the East" and "Switzerland of India". The entire tourism industry and its infrastructure is an area of unlimited business potential, contributing to employment generation and increased revenue earnings. This is an area where immediate benefits can be reaped.

LOCATION ADVANTAGE

The region has a tremendous location advantage, though popular perception sometime is exactly to the contrary. Almost 98% of the borders of the North-East are international- a veritable gateway to the South-East Asia and the world. China to the north, Bangladesh in the South-west, Myanmar in the east and Bhutan in the north-west share borders with the North-east region. This is a grand opportunity since the location proximity can be leveraged to promote tourism in the entire region. Government of India has identified tourism as a priority sector raising allocation by five fold in X^th Five Year Plan. The proposed East West corridor project undergoing improves the connectivity and reopening of Guwahati International Airport will definitely facilitate the tourists from allover the neighboring region. It is necessary to establish the much-needed corridor between North East as a bridge to South East Asia for economic operation and to make North East a hub for trade and commerce as well as a popular tourist destination.

Some of the interesting facets of this region, which can be described as the region’s real competitive advantage, are as follows:

1.         Rich Bio-diversity - flora, fauna, forest, medicinal and aromatic plants
2.         Immense cultural diversity

3.         Tremendous ethnic diversity - people and their traditions

4.         Matrilineal social system amongst Khasis and Jaintia tribes as also a variation of matriarchal system among Garos is the world's remnant of ancient civilization

5.         Mountains, rolling hills, forests, lakes, valleys, rivers

6.         Variety of village life fold and livelihood options, rural diversity

7.         Diversity of religious celebrations

8.         Spread of History

9.         Tea and Raj nostalgia

10.        Gateway to South East Asia.

TOURISM IN NORTH EAST ASIA

The ethnic and the cultural diversity of the people, the rich handloom and handicrafts, Raj nostalgia associated with the tea industry, different battle sites of World War-II and the various war cemeteries are some of the other attractions that the region has to offer to the world. The North East especially Meghalaya can offer thrilling experiences for those interested in cave tourism. Buddhists can visit Tawang and Hindus the Kamakhya Temple etc. at Guwahati. Majuli Island at Brahmaputra is the biggest river Island in the world. It is a rare attraction. There are well preserved Churches all over N.E. States. Tea was discovered here in the year 1825 and there are many lush green tea gardens that present a soothing sight to the eyes. Oil was first struck in 1889 and one of the world's first refineries came up in Digboi (Assam) in 1901. This presents a tremendous potential for both capacity building and capital formation.

Indeed it's a virtual paradise for travelers, searching for continuous joy in Pilgrimage, Adventure, Culture, Nature, Heritage, Wildlife, Golf and Polo and many more. All these make a rich panorama. It's a land in the twilight of imagination and reality. It's a tourists' delight.

Though Northeastern region possesses rich history, culture and scenic beauty comparable to any other developed tourist spot of the country, very few foreign tourists of the world are exploring this region.

Table no. 5: Number of Tourist Spots and Tourists in north east India during 2001-2002

NA: Information not available

There is a wrong perception that entire North Eastern Region is beset with multiple insurgencies. The fact is militancy does exist in certain pockets only but large area in the region is not at all affected by the cult of terrorism and insurgency. It is on the part of people at large and media in particular to provide this vital information to the people at large. But there are other reasons also for lesser number of tourists in the region. Few are the few worth mentioning:

ABSENCE OF A TOURISM POLICY

The Government of India has a policy to develop tourism into an industry and a target to achieve in respect of attracting foreign tourists, who constitute an important source of hard foreign currency. As a result, process tourism has become the second largest foreign exchange earner. It has taken steps to revise the National Tourism Policy, 1982 and came up with new Tourism Policy -2002 to envision global tourism based on four S – Swagat (welcome), Suvidha (facilities), Soosna (information) and Suraksha (security). It is said that Assam has a policy on tourism prepared in November 1987. Unfortunately, it is not available in any of the offices connected with tourism. It appears that there was an attempt in November 1987 to formulate a tourism policy and then in December 1992 an exercise was done to frame certain rules on tourism. It appears that these steps did not bring forth any concrete result. The media, in the recent times has been giving adequate publicity highlighting the importance of tourism in the economic development of the state.  Most of the newspapers in both English and Assamese have been publishing good number articles in frequent intervals highlighting various aspects of tourism and its potentiality in the sustainable development of the region.  Ideas on this matter are generated through media, but these are yet to be crystallized and institutionalized, as result tourism remains in the domain of ad hocism.

RESTRICTED AREA PERMIT (RAP)

The RAP to the North-Eastern region was enforced in 1955 in the backdrop of alleged missionary involvement in the Naga rebellion. Under this a foreigner intending to visit North-East including Assam had to undergo a long arduous procedure of obtaining permission from the Home Ministry. With RAP in force till May 18, 1999 it was an uphill task for any foreign tourist to visit Assam and other places in the North-East. Unfortunately, the ghost of RAP still continues to loom large and the efforts to disabuse the false apprehension in the mind of the foreign tourists are minimal.

INSURGENCY

Almost whole of North-East, has been experiencing violent movements, some of which are secessionists in nature. The foreign and the domestic tourists consider it risky to visit this part of the country, in view of the prevailing law and order situation. The general impression has been that any foreign or domestic tourist could be a soft target of the insurgents. Therefore, they are reluctant to undertake an adventurous journey to Assam and North-East. Contrary to this general impression, however, there is not a single instance of harassment, not to speak of threat to life to any domestic or foreign tourists visiting the region since the outbreak of the Naga movement. But the general impression about the deteriorating law and order situation is enough to ward off any tourist.

LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE

To attract tourists, there must be distribution of information, infrastructural facilities like good hotels and tourist lodges, affordable and reliable communication network, clean and hygienic food and accommodation, availability of water sports equipment, and the like. Most of the places of tourist attraction are not by the side of the national highways, and   approach roads are in bad condition. This is a strong discouraging factor, which works against a good inflow of the tourist. It appears that the potentialities for developing tourism to a stable source of revenue are not matched by proper policy and strategy.

 LACK OF COORDINATED EFFORTS

There is a lack of coordination among several agencies like Department of Tourism and Department of Archaeology in handling the demands of the tourists in places of both historic and religious importance. There is virtually no coordination between various public industries and private sectors like tea industry, oil and coal on one hand, and the Department of Tourism or Assam Tourist Development Corporation (ATDC), on the other, in the efforts towards developing eco and tea tourism. Similarly, there is no tangible and effective coordination between the twin bodies of tourism, that is, the Directorate of Tourism and ATDC on one hand, and road and river transport system run by both Government and private sectors on the other. Therefore, stagnation has been the striking mark of the status of tourism in Assam.

ABSENCE OF TOURIST GUIDES

The region virtually does not have any trained guides placed in important places of tourist attraction. Consequently, as the tourists arrive at such a place there is hardly anyone to satisfy the inquisitiveness of the tourists. The Department of Tourism initiated a programme to train tourist guides. The effort did not yield good result as most of the trainees left the job.  Some of them found other means of livelihood while others found it to be less paying because of the poor inflow of the tourists to the state. It is a chicken-and-egg syndrome which can be resolved by the state government by adopting a two-front strategy – (i) tourist guide training programme for a very limited number of youths, and (ii) setting a target of inflow of the tourists.

NORTH EAST INDIA: AN AREA OF INVESTMENT

Rich mineral resources

·                      Plentiful energy sources - some yet to be exploited, such as river Brahmaputra and its tributaries, forming the largest perennial water system in India, has immense potential for energy, irrigation and also transportation. North East India could be developed into India's powerhouse.

·                     Fertile stretches of land in India along the Brahmaputra valley.

·                     Storehouse of horticultural products/plantation crops/vegetables/spices & rare forest products

·                     Abundant forest resources

·                     Diverse tourist attractions -Natural scenic beauty as well as rich cultural heritage.

·                     Reasonably priced and easily available labour.

Also -

·                     Growth Centers, IIDCs, Notified Industrial areas have been converted into Total Tax Free Zones for the next 10 years.

·                     Subsidies on Transport, Capital Investment, Interest on the Working Capital, Insurance etc. are available for industries in the NE Region.

ATTRACTION FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Especially attractive for foreign investment because-

·                     It is close to Myanmar, the gateway to the ASEAN countries. South East Asia is one of the fastest growing potential markets today. North East India has the potential to emerge as the strategic base for foreign and domestic investors to tap this market. Both land and water routes could be made available to investors for export to East and South East Asia.

·                     Proximity to the SAARC countries of Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal gives foreign investors the advantage of international trade.

In short, North Eastern India's location advantage and rich natural resources provide a backdrop for its development as a base for foreign investors.

STEPS TAKEN TO IMPROVE TOURISM

The renewed emphasis by Government and private promoters on tourism sector, mainly in the sphere of infrastructure development has been well complimented by the gradual increase of tourist inflow to the State.

TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT:

Over the years, a large number of medium and minor tourism infrastructure projects with total financial outlay of about Rs.35.00 crore have been taken up. These included infrastructure projects like (a) Tourism Complex, (b) Yatriniwas, (c) Tourist Reception Centers, (d) Upgradation and expansion of tourist facilities, (e) Development of Pilgrim Centres and (f) Water Sports etc. All these have been taken up by the State Government with or without Central Government fund.

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP:

For sustainable growth of tourism, large investment for infrastructure development is called for. This can be possible if the private sector comes forward for investment considering the potential of tourism in the region. The State Government is committed to facilitate private sector investment and participation in the tourism sector in all possible way. The State Government has endeavored to intensify private sector investment and participation in management and development of the projects already set up and also for establishment of new projects. With these objectives in view, at present about 36 projects / units of the Government are run in association with private sector participation. Setting up of some more projects with joint participation of both private sector and Government are now in progress.

POLICY INITIATIVES - NEW TOURISM POLICY OF THE STATE OF ASSAM:

Policy initiatives have been taken for positioning Assam as a major tourist destination with thrust on infrastructure development and strengthening of Private-Public Partnership. A separate (i) Tourism Policy of the State and also the process of preparation of (ii) Master Plan of Assam Tourism as a long term vision document for growth of Assam Tourism have been recently taken up. Moreover, different incentives to intensify private sector participation have also been considered for implementation. It is also proposed to start an innovative scheme of setting up tourism projects of varied nature across the State with involvement of Self-Help Groups and financial support from the State Government at the initiative and guidance of the Hon'ble Chief Minister, which will surely bring about visible growth of tourism related activities in a sustainable way. The State Govt. will attempt to ensure the following Policy initiatives for sustainable growth of tourism in the State:-

a) Industrial incentives to tourism projects.

b) Rationalisation of luxury tax and other taxes, license fees etc. and issues relating to tax holidays.

c) Capital subsidy for preparation of techno-economic and feasibility reports for selected category of units.

d) Allotment of developed land for setting up infrastructure projects in selected hot spots of Tourism.

e) Assistance for training and manpower for setting up Joint Venture projects.

Tourism has emerged as one of the prospective sectors of industry in the Northeast. Expert foresees a more explosive growth in this sector in the coming decades. In order to further accelerate the development of the sector, the thrust area pursued were-

(a) Development of infrastructure;

(b) Product development;

(c) Development of trekking, winter sports, wildlife and beach resorts,

(d) Exploring new source markets in regions and countries having cultural affinity;

(e) Environmental protection and cultural preservation of natural heritage projects;

(f) Launching of national image building and marketing plan in key markets;

(g) Providing inexpensive accommodation in different tourist centers;

(h) Improving service efficiency in public sector corporations;

(i) Streamlining of facilitation procedures at airports;

(j) Human resource development;

(k) Monitoring and evaluation;

(l) Strengthening of organization;

(m) Creating awareness and public participation;

(n) Facilitating private sector participation in development of infrastructure etc.

To integrate these states with rest of the country and economic integration with South-East Asia, there is a need for adopting a new model of development for the region. Although different models of development adopted in the past four to five decades in the region, the latest being the heavy doses of public expenditure, had failed to work. If the initiatives to forge regional trading arrangements with East and South-East Asian countries through Myanmar bear fruit, that will integrate India and South Asia economically with the newly industrialized eastern bloc. But the share of benefits for the northeastern region from such integration will depend on how much of the trade traffic will move through the land routes via northeastern India.

It is important to forge deeper engagement with ASEAN through enhanced interaction between India’s northeastern states and the South-east Asian Countries. The 1^st India-ASEAN Car Rally at Guwahati in Assam on 22^nd November 2004 was an important step in India’s ambitious plan to link its northeastern region with Southeast Asia.

Similarly, in 1992, India’s then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao instituted a “Look East Policy” that sought closer economic (and to a lesser extent security) ties with maritime Southeast Asia. However, it is only in more recent times that India has opened up to the potential of economic integration of its northeastern region through joint economic co-operation and development with mainland Southeast Asia. India has finally begun to realize that economic integration of its Northeast with Southeast Asia will foster the region’s political integration with India.

New Delhi now plans to realize the untapped economic potential of its northeastern region that has resources for the development of paper industry, horticulture, agriculture, food processing, hydroelectric power, minerals, and oil and gas. Tourism and its infrastructure is an area of immense untapped business potential in the region that has prompted comparisons like “Scotland of the East”.

A four-point action plan to promote eco and rural tourism has been suggested. These are as follows:

·