Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
Guwahati based Eventours focuses on creating carefully crafted trips around events and festivals across India, in particular the North East region. The tours highlight tribal culture, traditions and festivals in the eight states – Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. “Apart from the traditional culture aspect, the sheer topography and lifestyle, North East India serves as a great arena for adventure and music festivals,” said Amitabh Sarma, co-founder, Eventours. Some of the major festivals being promoted by the company are – Hornbill Festival in Nagaland, Ziro Music Festival in Arunachal Pradesh, Bihu Festival in Assam, Bacardi NH Weekender in Meghalaya, Moastu and the Aoling Festivals in Nagaland, Sanghai Festival in Manipur, Mopin and Boori Boot festivals in Arunachal Pradesh and Ambubachi Mela in Assam.
“All our trips are embedded with an event or a festival, and this proves to be quite an engaging travel experience for the end-client,” mentioned Sarma, pointing out that they are also promoting some lesser known festivals in the region like Shine-A-Light Music Festival in Meghalaya, Pangsau Pass Festival in Arunachal Pradesh, Junbeli Mela in Assam, Dree Festival in Arunachal Pradesh, Anthurium in Mizoram, Losoong in Sikkim, Tawang Festival in Arunachal Pradesh, Nogkrem Dance Festival in Meghalaya and others.
The target client segment are international and domestic travellers who have done the regular tourist circuits and are looking for a more engaging travel itinerary.
“While our trips are for all age groups, but there is a certain amount of activity involved that requires one to be in good shape. While we have traditionally worked with incoming clients, currently we are focusing on increasing footfalls from the domestic segment. Having said that, we would rather sell North East India, not as a mass tourism destination but as an exclusive destination to a niche clientele,” stated Sarma. He pointed out that North East India is differentiated on the basis of its inherent strength, which includes the region’s unique culture, dance-forms, cuisine, natural landscape, wildlife, etc. “That’s what the Eventours vision is, to establish North East India as a unique destination with products that do not exist anywhere else in the world and that added value,” asserted Sarma.