Newmai News Network
Shillong: The Ministry of Tourism, the government of India, is organising the 11th edition of the International Tourism Mart in Shillong from Nov 21 to 23, 2023.
The International Tourism Mart is an annual event held by the Ministry in one of the North Eastern states on a rotation basis, to provide a bigger platform to the North Eastern stakeholders to interact with their counterparts from both within the country and overseas markets as well as to create awareness about the tourism potential of North East Region (NER) and highlight its unique tourism products, rich biodiversity, unique intangible heritage including local traditions, dance forms, arts, handicrafts and handlooms to a domestic and international audience.
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The International Mart is also going to be a unique event, as it has been planned as a Green Event by adopting low carbon options on the lines of the action points formulated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the implementation of Mission LiFE and sensitising the tourism stakeholders and generating greater awareness about its objectives. There will be no use of SUP (Single Use Plastic), a digital and paperless route will be followed as well as a tree plantation drive will be undertaken.
The event is scheduled to be inaugurated by Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, G Kishan Reddy and will be attended by North-Eastern Tourism Ministers, senior officials of North-Eastern States, State Governments and heads of the Tourism and hospitality associations.
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The earlier editions of this Mart have been held in Guwahati, Tawang, Shillong, Gangtok, Agartala, Imphal, Kohima and Aizwal. Shillong will be hosting this event for the second time, since its inception. An approximate number of 100 delegates including domestic and international, would be participating in the event.
The event will include an exclusive session dedicated to business meetings between local North Eastern stakeholders and domestic and international buyers. The eight North Eastern States would present updates on their new destinations as well as new opportunities in their States. Knowledge sessions and panel discussions with panellists from both the government and private sectors would deliberate on the advances and development of connectivity in the region. The air connectivity in the North East has increased tremendously in the last few years.
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At present, there are more than 16 airports providing accessibility to tourist destinations in the Northeast region. The Ministry of Tourism has collaborated with the Ministry of Civil Aviation under their RCS-UDAN Scheme. As part of this collaboration, 53 tourism routes have become operational of which 10 routes are exclusively for the North East Region. The 3 Vistadome trains operating in the Northeast region have greatly contributed to not only connectivity but also to enhancing its tourism appeal.
Further, to take forward the Travel for LiFE, a sectoral programme initiated by the Ministry of Tourism, under the aegis of Mission LiFE, the Ministry is working with all the stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem including the state governments, Industry, destinations and tourists. Travel for Life Program is envisaged to position India as a leader in promoting sustainable and responsible tourism and using tourism as a vehicle for achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This Mart also upholds the action points formulated by MoEF for the organisation of national and international Conferences.
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Development of tourism infrastructure and tourism promotion in NER: The development of tourism infrastructure and tourism promotion activities in the North Eastern Region has been one of the priorities of the Ministry of Tourism. Sixteen projects have been sanctioned in the North East States under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme for a total amount of Rs 1309.00 crores. A total of 15 tourist destinations are being taken up in the North East for development under the revamped Swadesh Darshan Scheme 2.0 with an objective to develop sustainable and responsible destinations with a tourist and destination-centric approach.
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Further, the Ministry of Tourism under the PRASHAD Scheme has sanctioned a total of 8 projects for an amount of Rs 256.45 Crore for the integrated development of identified pilgrimage destinations in the Northeast States. The Ministry of Tourism has also sanctioned the development of 22 viewpoints at the cost of Rs 44.44 Crore to provide world-class infrastructure and related services for the highway network viz, commercial spaces, logistic parks, traveller facilities such as wayside amenities (WSA) in the NorthEast Region. Many of the projects sanctioned under SD 1.0 and PRASHAD Schemes have already been completed and dedicated to the nation.
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