Promotion of North-Eastern Region As Tourism Destinations

The North Eastern Region (NER) of India, including the State of Sikkim, is a reservoir of rich natural resources & biodiversity and an amalgamation of different tribes and cultures. It is still a largely unexplored region having many tourism attractions in the form of wild life sanctuaries, adventure tourism assets, diverse cultural heritage, multifaceted fairs & festivals, world famous Buddhist Monasteries, etc. It, therefore, has great potential for both domestic and international tourism.

            The Ministry of Tourism has 14 offices overseas. These offices are located at Amsterdam, Beijing, Dubai, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. The primary function of these offices is to position India as a preferred destination in important tourist markets and thus improve India’s share of the global tourism.

            The details of non-plan expenditure of the overseas offices, consisting of foreign travel expenditure, office expenses and rent, rate & taxes, during each of the last three years and the current year, are as below:\

(Amt. in Rs. lakh)

S. No	Name of Office	Year 2010-11	Year 2011-12	Year 2012-13	Year 2013-14*
1	Amsterdam(Netherlands)	112.60	123.41	118.99	94.29
2	Beijing(China)	131.92	127.89	131.04	94.07
3	Dubai (United Arab Emirates)	74.64	94.26	101.48	60.64
4	Frankfurt (Germany)	190.87	212.45	212.34	93.83
5	Johannesburg(South Africa)	64.52	71.95	67.40	50.30
6	London (United Kingdom)	202.57	196.82	275.14	168.87
7	Los Angeles (United States)	64.50	91.83	99.39	63.61
8	Milan (Italy)	54.37	85.60	84.70	63.00
9	New York (United States)	215.83	283.60	258.34	222.31
10	Paris (France)	217.52	200.57	215.65	45.40
11	Singapore	114.17	118.48	103.55	75.43
12	Sydney(Australia)	156.78	173.79	203.47	139.89
13	Tokyo (Japan)	190.55	161.47	163.30	100.07
14	Toronto (Canada)	99.42	97.08	80.07	44.73

*upto 30.11.2013

The overseas offices undertake a series of promotional activities including advertising in the local print, electronic, online and outdoor media; participation in travel fairs and exhibitions; organising road shows, ‘Know India’ seminars & workshops; organizing and supporting Indian food and cultural festivals; publication of brochures; offering joint advertising and brochure support; and inviting media personalities, tour operators and opinion makers to visit the country under the Hospitality Programme of the Ministry.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Tourism (I/C)Shri K. Chiranjeevi in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. 

Courtesy: Press Information Bureau (pib.nic.in)