Tourists mingle with dancers around the Morungs during 24th Hornbill Festival 2023 at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama. (Morung File Photo)
Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 31
In 2023, the overall tourist arrival in Nagaland was the second lowest among the North-East States, according to figures provided by the Union Ministry of Tourism in the Lok Sabha on July 29. A total of 104.4 thousand (1.044 lakh) visited Nagaland in 2023, comprising 99.7 thousand domestic tourist visits (DTVs) and 4,700 foreign tourist visits (FTVs).
The data provided by the Union Minister of Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, based on provisional figures from the respective State Tourism Departments, highlighted that only Manipur, in violent conflict since May 2023, had a lower overall footfall. Manipur had 57.7 thousand DTVs and 3,700 FTVs in 2023.
Source: Data provided by the Union Ministry of Tourism in a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha on July 29.
Collectively, Assam had the highest tourist footfall with over 76.36 lakh visits, propelled by DTVs at over 76.7 lakh. The state recorded 23,800 FTVs. Sikkim had the second highest overall tourist footfall at over 14.15 lakh, notably comprising around 93,800 foreign visitors. At 13.91 lakh, Meghalaya attracted the third highest tourist visits, comprising over 20,000 FTVs. The State of Arunachal Pradesh also recorded high total footfall at over 10.45 lakh, but FTVs were low at around 4,500. Tripura recorded 3.66 lakh footfall, with substantial FTVs at 66.7 thousand.
In terms of foreign visitors, Nagaland had the fifth highest footfall at around 4,700, beaten to the bottom by Arunachal Pradesh (4,500), Mizoram (3,800), and Manipur (3,700). To attract tourists, the Ministry of Tourism has undertaken many initiatives including the International Tourism Mart (ITM) in the North Eastern Region to showcase the region’s potential, the Minister said. The last, i.e. 11th edition of ITM, was held in Shillong from November 21-23, 2023.
A total of 10 routes in the North-East have also been established under the Tourism Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS Udan), he added. While Nagaland’s number is low comparatively, it suggests a slight increase from 0.10 million (1 lakh) recorded in 2022 as per Tourism Ministry data provided in the Lower House of Parliament in December 2022.
The bulk of Nagaland’s tourist footfall is recorded during the State’s premier Hornbill Festival held annually from December 1-10. As per official State Tourism data, the Hornbill Festival 2023 pulled in 1.54 lakh visitors comprising 2,108 foreigners, 37,089 domestic tourists, and 114,860 locals. The number of foreign tourists in 2023 almost doubled compared to the 2022 edition, when 1,026 foreign visitors were registered.
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.