India

North-East tourism expected to boost by 12 per cent

The new, improved infrastructure facilities and air connectivity to the North-East have made it a tourist hotspot among travellers, and is expected to grow by 10-12 per cent in 2019.

“The bookings for North-east have gone up by 18 per cent as compared to the same period (April-June) last year. Tourism in the North-east region is expected to grow by at least 10-12 per cent even in the next year,” Cox & King’s Head, Relationships, Karan Anand told PTI.

Improved air facilities is considered as one of the prime reasons for an increase in tourists in the eight northeast states. “Air connectivity has tremendously improved with new routes opening in the region last year. New flights have been introduced using Shillong as a hub to travel to other prominent tourist destinations of Meghalaya like Cherrapunji and Mawlynnong. The new airport at Pakyong (Sikkim) will further make reaching the northern part of the state, especially to tourist attractions such as Nathu La Pass, easier,” Anand said.

The adventure seekers are basically travelling to the North-East from metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Guwahati and are aged between 25-50 years.