Despite militancy, Assam still manages to attract tourists

GUWAHATI, JAN 2: The flow of tourists to Assam, both foreign as well as domestic, has registered an upward growth in the past three years, despite the fact that the State continues to be disturbed by militant activities.Talking to media-persons here today, Assam Tourism Minister Jagadish Bhuyan disclosed that this season, the State has already received 3721 foreign tourists, while the number of domestic tourists has reached the six lakh mark. “More and more tourists are willing to come to the State, with Kaziranga National Park remaining the most important point of attraction,” Bhuyan claimed.

He said that while the number of foreign tourists had gone down from 5885 in 1996 to 4194 in 1997, the figure has already crossed 3700 during the current season, with four months still to go before the monsoon began. Prompted by this inflow, the Assam Tourism Department has already drawn up schemes to develop the Kaziranga National Park as an off-season destination, Bhuyan informed. While the park, as of date,has facilities to accommodate about 200 tourists on any given day, the Department has already begun working on five new cottages, apart from a swimming pool there. It has also drawn up as many as nine new schemes during the next three months, which including for Bhalukpong near Tezpur, which is a major angling point, apart from being the approach to Nameri National park, home to the highly endangered winged wood duck.

Plans are also afoot to develop Majuli, the world’s largest river island, because of the number of international queries for the Centre of Vaishnavite Culture located in the heart of the Brahmaputra, off Jorhat in upper Assam, he added. Guwahati will also have more conducted tour facilities, due to its popular temples.