Tourist Inflow to Northeast Rises

New Delhi, Dec 10 : The number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, visiting India's northeast rose between 2005 and 2009, Minister of State of Tourism Sultan Ahmed said Thursday.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Ahmed said that in the year 2005, a total of 35,18,670 domestic tourists visited the northeast - a growth of 3.64 percent from the previous year.

In 2006, the region saw 44,57,280 tourists, in 2007 it saw 47,26,220 tourists, and in 2008 - 52,11,740 tourists.

In 2009, the number of domestic tourists was 5,704,250 - registering a growth of 9.45 percent.

As for the foreign tourists, the region received 3,687 tourists in 2005, registering a negative growth of 6.63 percent. However, the numbers rose in the corresponding years.

In 2006, the number of foreign tourists visiting the region was 3,857, in 2007 it was 4,306, in 2008 it was 4,756. In 2009, the number further rose to 4,766.

The northeastern region of the country constitutes the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.