TravTalk India Online Magazine
The state governments must ensure they implement homogeneous COVID protocols for visitors across all the states of the region since most visitors to the Northeast visit at least two states, says Nirmalya Choudhury, Chapter Chairman – North East States, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).
Hazel Jain
North-Eastern people are travelling to various destinations within the region in small groups of close family or friends, preferring short stays at places such as wildlife parks, walking trails or nature retreats, of which there is no scarcity in the region.
“A number of people from other regions of India have also started to come to our region for holidays. But, this is still comparatively small in number,” says Nirmalya Choudhury, adding, “Though the spike in new cases is not directly attributable to tourism, it does put pressure on future tourism resumption. It is all about managing perception and most of our region is doing a good job of keeping new case numbers low.”
That said, Choudhury feels that there is one thing that the state governments in the region must ensure – the introduction and implementation of homogeneous COVID protocols for visitors across all the states of the region. He says, “Most visitors to the Northeast region travel to at least two states during their stay if not more, and a seamless travel experience across states will go a long way to ensure high approval ratings and quality of experience among visitors.”
Choudhury adds that most tour operators of the region are receiving queries from prospective travellers from around the country and some people are visiting the region for short holidays. However, the numbers are still small.
Another probable reason, according to him, could be that while the region has easy air connectivity with the rest of the country with direct flights from most major cities, the common misperception that the region is a far-off destination is why it is not receiving as many travellers as it should. In fact, their wildlife sanctuaries are proving to be of particular interest among recent visitors looking for open spaces.
“For the IATO North East States Chapter, the main area of focus is to continue requesting all the states of our region to communicate with each other and formulate a uniform COVID-19 protocol for visitors. Seamless travel between states in terms of COVID-19 protocols and SOPs will go a long way to ensure positive experience,” Choudhury says.
