SUDIPTA DEV – Mumbai
 |
|
Abhijit Chalke
|
Parivaar India Tours has been promoting the Seven Sister states (Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura) for the last five years among French, German and Spanish clients coming to India. The company ventured into the domestic market just last year and has been getting a good response. “Domestic travel agents have been coming to us with very specific queries for these sectors. We expect tourism to get a great boost in these areas,” said Abhijit Chalke, director, Parivaar India Tours.
Chalke pointed out that the popular states are Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal. He remarked that there are many repeat travellers as it is not possible to cover most of the highlights in a single trip. “That is why they do Assam and Meghalaya or Assam and Arunachal. We have different circuits based on the nature of the clients’ visit and accordingly we suggest the itinerary,” he stated.
Mumbai and Gujarat have been the key source markets for the company’s domestic clients. “Clients find it monotonous to visit Rajathan and Kerala again and again. Most travel agents send clients at least three times to the North east – first to cover Assam and Meghalaya, second Arunachal and third time Nagaland and other places. There is a lot of scope for travel agents in these states,” he said.
The company does 450-500 pax a year in the North East for its international clients – both groups and FITs. Regarding the new locations that both international and Indian travellers would like to explore and expereince in these seven states, Chalke said that for this low profile circuits could be explored. Arunachal Pradesh is the only state that needs restricted area permit. The other six states do not. “The northen frontiers of Arunachal Pradesh are low profile areas but worth exploring. Presently apart from the capital, infrasructure has not yet been developed for tourism in Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura,” he added.
