Exploring Tourism Potential

Jatindra Nath Mahanta

While everyone is making loud and clear statements that there is a huge potential for growth of tourism in the Northeast, agencies and government departments concerned are not taking any concrete actions to realize this potential. On the face of it everyone is aware of the basic requirements of the region to extract maximum advantage of the huge potential, which is infrastructure in the form of road/rail/air connectivity, landline/mobile/internet/broadband communication facilities and decent budget and star accommodation.

For improving road/rail/air connectivity, the Central government has substantial proposals and projects in hand. But the pace of execution is not commensurate with the need of the hour. It will be advantageous for all concerned if these plans are given concrete shape and brought to a speedy completion. Some burning examples of delay and lethargy in the implementation of projects are Bogibeel Bridge over the Brahmaputra, Gas Cracker Project, BG conversion of a few sectors in the region, EW Corridor, SARDP-NE etc. Surface and air connectivity are considered to be the most important basic infrastructure needed for development of any region in any field. This is the single basic requirement for any industry to take form and develop. The same authorities who are making statements about the tourism potential of the region are also somewhat responsible for ensuring speedy implementation of these road/rail projects in time. Otherwise the potential will remain unexplored, not only in the tourism sector but also in all other sectors of industry which can be based on locally available raw materials. It should be the primary focus of both the Central and State governments to ensure completion of the proposed road building and rail link extension/conversion projects on a priority basis.

During the last NE business summit, some Southeast Asian countries had evinced keen interest to associate with the Northeast in many fields, with tourism getting a fair share of attention. They also hoped that the proposed trans-Asian Highway linking India through the Northeast to the Southeast Asian nations would be completed expeditiously so that exchanges in trading and industrial activities get a real boost. It would definitely have a significant impact on the economy of the Northeast by way of enhanced industrial activities, particularly in the tourism sector.

A few of the participating countries were also mentioning about making Guwahati the aviation hub of the Northeast in place of Kolkata, which will be of advantage to the Southeast Asian countries as well as to the northeastern region of India. It is necessary to operationalize the international airport at Guwahati in a meaningful way. The government needs to carry out a survey to ascertain the most likely nationals to tour the Northeast and accordingly plan flight schedules from Guwahati to these countries. This is another very important sphere of activity for opening wide the door of tourism industry to welcome a large chunk of tourists from these countries to the Northeast. All the northeastern States will need to unite on this issue of operating direct flights from Guwahati to the Southeast Asian countries and bring considerable pressure on the Aviation Ministry at the Centre for early action. And linked to this, on-going construction activities for the additional facilities comprising runway and terminal are required to be completed expeditiously.

The communication network — landline and mobile — are well spread out and performance is strong. Expansion to certain pockets, hitherto out of reach, may need to be planned. Since there are a number of companies vying for enhanced market participation, this aspect will definitely get looked into and very soon these pockets will get covered.

As far as the accommodation and hospitality aspects are concerned, it is for the local people to play a big role. They have to come up with the right kind of solutions. We can take Goa and Kerala as model and guide. It is not always five-star hotels that only can attract tourists. Take the example of Goa where the locals are operating a large number of beach-front guest houses and eating joints. Tourists enjoying these facilities far outnumber those enjoying five-star facilities. The local people of the Northeast must come up with similar innovative ideas to suit our condition and to capture the imagination of tourists. Here the government can definitely extend substantial help in the form of information on the tourists’ preference of facilities and expectations, design and developments of small lodges/resorts/guest houses, guidance on banking and financial aspects, and in making water/power/communication facilities available.

The main hindrances faced by the local would-be entrepreneurs are lack of support from the government and administration, lack of knowledge about financing, and red tapism in various connected departments coupled with deep-rooted corruption. The government departments and other agencies concerned cannot just wash their hands off simply by labelling the local unemployed youths as a ‘‘bunch of good for nothing’’. The mindset needs a change on both sides. Educated youths must come up with viable projects and government departments should extend all necessary help with a sense of service and not as a favour. Many would-be entrepreneurs’ dreams die at the initial stage of infancy because of the apathy shown by some government departments and financial institutions. This trend must be reversed for the happening of tourism in the Northeast. THE SENTINEL