JOY ROY CHOUDHURY – Guwahati
“International class river cruise over the Brahmaputra, eco and tea tourism and wildlife will be the major thrust areas of tourism promotion in Assam in the coming years,” Dhruba Hazarika, secretary, Tourism Department, Government of Assam told Express TravelWorld in an exclusive interview, on the sidelines of the International Travel Mart held in Guwahati recently. “We feel that introduction of this luxury cruise will help the north eastern states to bring in more foreign and domestic tourists to the region,” said Hazarika. The river cruise vessel – M V Mahabahu was launched last year at Guwahati in the presence of the then union tourism minister and chief minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi.
The project, envisioned a decade ago, was an attempt to create a unique tourism experience of international standards. The cruise has been developed under PPP mode between Assam Tourism Development Corporation and Far Horizon India at a cost of over `26 crore. Sanjay Basu, managing director, Far Horizon Tours has also expressed his viewpoint on the initiative and feels that it is a unique experience that is bring offered to the international clientele and also niche travellers from within India.
Speaking on the initiatives of Assam Tourism, Ashish Phookan, managing director, Jungle Travels, India, Assam Bengal Navigation and Diphlu River Lodge felt that the time is come to showcase the north east to the world. According to Phookan, “The recently held International Travel Mart and the ATOAI convention is a positive step in this direction and we welcome the initiative. The state of Assam has a lot to offer he tourists from cruising, to wildlife, tea garden tourism etc.”
Hazarika further added, “Apart from cruising, we are working with six major tea gardens of the state, where we intend to jointly plan to promote tea tourism in a big way. “The international and domestic tourists visiting these tea estates will have a feel of how tea leaves are plucked, processed and produced at the tea manufacturing facilities set alongside these gardens. Besides, these gardens will have international class accommodation facilities to accommodate the guests. As these tea gardens are situated on huge plot of lush greenery, we are also planning to promote golf tourism in these gardens.”
There are 850 big and medium sized tea gardens in Assam. The average holding of a tea garden is 13 sq km. Hazarika said that no other state offers so much in terms of diversities like Assam, be it rich natural resources, art & culture, fairs & festivals, handicrafts, pristine landscapes, forests and exotic cuisine, wildlife. The state houses 10 wildlife sanctuaries and four national parks. “Our focus would be to promote these national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and the wildlife present here,” he added.
