Tourism in Assam a brief

Assam is a state of breathtaking scenic beauty. Its flora and fauna, lofty hills, the mighty Brahmaputra and its tributaries , the dense and verdant forest , its rich cultural heritage, the colourful tribes , the myths and mystery, its music and dances, handloom and handicrafts, --all these are eternal sources possesses some of the world class tourism products. The focal points of tourism in Assam are: Wild life Tourism, Pilgrimage & Cultural Tourism; Heritage Tourism; Adventure & Eco-Tourism; River Tourism; Tea & Golf Tourism and Rural Tourism. of tourist attractions. It

Today, tourism is a core sector for many countries in the world which has bought about socio-economic regeneration. This sector offers enormous employment opportunities and its role in direct and indirect employment generation is very large and significant. However, notwithstanding the huge tourism potential, the State has not been able to harness the full potentials of this sector for more than one reasons. Of these, some are economical while some others are social and political. The flow of domestic and overseas tourist to the State are far below in comparison to some other states. However, fortunately for the State, there have been substantial growth in the tourist arrival to the state during the last few years and things have started looking up.

Tourism Infrastructure Building : Infrastructure is very much an integral part of product development and also closely linked to qualitative improvement of the related services. On the other hand, tourism infrastructure are directly linked to many other sectors like road, power, forest,

environment, industry etc. Therefore, development of tourism infrastructure calls for coordinated and integrated efforts of all these linked sectors. During the 8th and 9th Plan period, some attention were given in the matter of tourism infrastructure building as well as on schemes for marketing and promotion. Small and medium sized infrastructure projects like a) Tourist Lodges and Resorts, b) Wayside Amenity Centres, c)Tourist Pilgrim Centres, etc. have been set up in different parts of the State. During the first two years of the 10th Plan, a major scheme of Heritage& Eco-Tourism project at Majuli and also for Development of North-East Tourism Circuit have been taken up with Central financial assistance. All these will go a long way for sustainable development of tourism in the State. Sustainable development, however, cannot take place with government efforts alone and private initiative and participation is required for which, Government should also act as catalyst and facilitator.