Eastern Himalayas Travel and Tour Operators’ Association (EHTTOA) is the key association of tour operators working at the grass root level in Siliguri, Darjeeling Hills, Dooars Sikkim and the North Eastern states. Tourist inflow in this region has been growing in the last couple of decades and there is great potential for the future. “Most of the tourist movement happens in western North East. We are just looking at the tip of the iceberg,” said Partha Pratim Guha, general secretary, EHTTOA. He points out that the tour operators of the region have seen a destination like Sikkim grow within the last decade. According to him the next happening destinations that will find an important place in India’s tourism map are – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. “These destinations have a great potential. It is true that there are roadblocks in terms of connectivity and infrastructure, however all three will emerge as important tourism destinations in the future,” he added.
It is the natural beauty of the North East region that attracts both domestic and inbound tourists. “The second great attraction for tourists is cultural diversity. The North East is a beautiful amalgam of modernity and cultural heritage,” stated Guha, asserting that it is a diversified region and there is a huge need to integrate this diversity. “The governments and tour operator associations need to come together,” he mentioned.
Among the problems that the local tour operators have been trying hard to resolve for a long time is a transport related issue. This has become a bone of contention for the travel trade people as well. The main problem is that in this region there is multiplicity of administration, there is West Bengal government, Gorkhaland Territory Authority (GTA) as well as Sikkim government. “Because of lack of consensus between the administration vehicles have to be changed almost everyday. For instance, one vehicle takes the tourist from Bagdodra Airport to Gangtok, another takes to hotel, local sightseeing is done by a third vehicle and so on. So every day the tourist has to change the vehicle. This has become a logistical nightmare,” stated Guha, adding that, this also adversely impacts the tourist experience. The association has been working with the West Bengal and Sikkim government to sort out this long over due issue but nothing has happened yet.