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The Ministry of Tourism told the Lok Sabha that it has organised the International Tourism Mart in the North Eastern Region since 2013, an annual event bringing together tourism businesses from the eight North Eastern States; the latest edition was held at Gangtok, Sikkim from 13 to 16 November 2025.
Tourist footfall data for 2025 shows Assam leading with 90,55,943 domestic tourist visits, followed by Meghalaya (18,48,239) and Sikkim (16,54,838); Sikkim recorded the highest foreign tourist visits at 68,992.
In January-June 2026, Sikkim recorded 23,52,725 domestic visits — already ahead of its full-year 2025 figure — while Assam recorded 46,04,112 domestic and 32,471 foreign visits.
The Ministry provides infrastructure funding through Swadesh Darshan, now revamped as Swadesh Darshan 2.0, the PRASHAD scheme, Assistance to Central Agencies, the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme and Challenge Based Destination Development.
Ten North East routes have been included as Tourism RCS routes under the UDAN scheme with Viability Gap Funding from the Ministry of Tourism's Champion Service Sector Scheme.
Develop tourism infrastructure; the revamped version aims at sustainable and responsible tourism destinations
Key: Swadesh Darshan was launched in 2014-15 as a theme-based tourism circuit scheme; it was revamped as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 in 2022 with a destination-centric rather than circuit-centric approach
Develop and identify pilgrimage and heritage destinations for a complete religious tourism experience
Key: The National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive, launched by the Ministry of Tourism in 2014-15 — the pilgrimage counterpart to Swadesh Darshan
Showcase the tourism potential of the North Eastern Region to domestic and international audiences
Key: Organised annually since 2013; brings together tourism businesses and entrepreneurs from the eight NE States with buyers, sellers, media and government agencies; the latest edition was at Gangtok, Sikkim from 13-16 November 2025
Select and develop tourist destinations through a competitive challenge route
Key: One of the funding channels the Ministry uses for tourism infrastructure alongside Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD
Provide States with long-term interest-free capital investment loans, including for tourism infrastructure
Key: A Ministry of Finance instrument through which tourism destination development projects are funded in States including in the North East
Make regional air travel affordable and improve air links to key tourist locations
Key: The Ministry of Civil Aviation's Regional Connectivity Scheme, with the Ministry of Tourism extending Viability Gap Funding under the Champion Service Sector Scheme; ten NER routes are designated Tourism RCS routes
Present India's tourism offering across web and social media in multiple languages
Key: The revamped Incredible India website, relaunched in September 2024, with content in Hindi, English and UN languages
The North Eastern Region comprises eight States — the seven 'Sister' States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, together with Sikkim. The region is connected to the rest of India through the narrow Siliguri Corridor, the 'Chicken's Neck' in West Bengal, which is why air connectivity under UDAN matters disproportionately here. The Tourism RCS routes named in the reply link Dibrugarh and Imphal in the Brahmaputra and Manipur valleys, Dimapur in Nagaland, Agartala in Tripura, Aizawl in Mizoram, and Hollongi — the site of Arunachal Pradesh's Donyi Polo Airport near Itanagar — with Guwahati, the region's hub.
North East tourism development is framed within the Act East Policy, which treats the region as India's land bridge to ASEAN rather than a periphery
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and the North Eastern Council fund region-specific infrastructure that complements the Tourism Ministry's schemes
The Swachhta Action Plan is delivered through IITTM (Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management), Central and State Institutes of Hotel Management and Food Craft Institutes — the Ministry's training network
Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) count visits, not persons, so a traveller visiting three States counts three times — a caveat worth stating whenever these figures are quoted
GS Paper 3 > Indian Economy > Tourism and Infrastructure; GS Paper 2 > Government Schemes
General Awareness > Government Schemes and Geography
General Awareness > Schemes
Tourism schemes and North East geography are recurring themes in Prelims and general-awareness papers
The annual Ministry of Tourism event held in the North Eastern Region since 2013 to showcase the region's tourism potential to domestic and international buyers
The 2022 revamp of the Swadesh Darshan scheme, shifting from theme-based tourist circuits to a destination-centric approach focused on sustainable and responsible tourism
National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive — the Ministry of Tourism's scheme for pilgrimage and heritage destinations, launched in 2014-15
Routes under the Regional Connectivity Scheme designated for tourism, supported by Viability Gap Funding from the Ministry of Tourism's Champion Service Sector Scheme