A two-day roundtable discussion on ‘Developing a Framework for Seamless Tourist Movements to North Eastern States of India’ was inaugurated today at IIM, Shillong in Umsawli campus.
The discussion was organised by the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research and Analysis of IIM Shillong, supported by the North Eastern Council (NEC) as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, celebrating 75 years of India’s independence.
NEC secretary, K Moses Chalai who graced the occasion as the chief guest in his address pointed out the imbalance between infrastructural development and the economic surplus in terms of jobs and income.
“Income generation continues to be a huge area of concern despite massive infrastructural development and tourism can offer the potential for income generation in Northeastern states,” he said.
He also mentioned the flourishing industry of ‘Off-road’ tourism which has immense potential in the region and could be exploited for attracting tourists.
IIM director, Prof DP Goyal in his address emphasized on the need to work at the grassroots to understand the challenges involved in developing a framework for seamless tourist movement. “We need to have dynamic, integrated portals providing up-to-date data to help tourists travel seamlessly across the North Easter Region, he said.
Centre coordinator, Dr. Sanjeev K Ningombam in his welcome address touched upon the topic of lack of data tracking of the tourist and his overall contribution to the economy.
Dr. Ningombam said, “It is high time we scale up the tourism sector and encash its best potential which can address economic as well as social concerns of the North Eastern region”.
The inaugural ceremony was followed by three parallel sessions and common sessions. The roundtable discussion witnessed the participation of delegates and resource persons from all over the Northeast.
