Union Tourism Ministry has spent 56 per cent of its budget during the last six months in the north-east to increase the inflow of domestic and foreign tourists.

Union Tourism Secretary Parvez Dewan informed this while talking to reporters on the sidelines of International Tourism Mart-2013 in Tawang district yesterday.

Dewan appealed to 68 delegates from 23 countries to become ambassadors of Arunachal tourism to facilitate flow of tourists from their respective nations to this part of the country.

Responding to queries, Dewan said India records 105 crore domestic tourists and 65 lakh foreign tourists annually yielding revenue of $18 billion from foreigners which amounted to 6.5 per cent of the national GDP, besides generating about 10 per cent direct or indirect employment.

“NE India has been receiving about 59,000 foreign tourists but this event would hopefully increase the inflow of tourists by 10 per cent a year,” he said.

On relaxation of restricted area permit for foreigners in Arunachal Pradesh, tourism consultant P. Sivaraman informed that the relaxation has been given to many tourist circuits and more would be given on receipt of request from the State Government.

Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, who inaugurated the ITM-2013 said that in the next few years, the Trans-Arunachal Highway connecting Tawang to almost all district HQs up to Kanubari in far east Longding, four-lane highway, four-lane East West Corridor connecting Assam and Arunachal Pradesh would bring a sea change by removing communication bottlenecks.

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