The 12th edition of International Tourism Mart (ITM) will be held at Kaziranga from November 26 to 29 to highlight the tourism potential of the northeastern region for both domestic and international audiences.
The ITM, an annual event organized by the Union ministry of tourism was launched in Guwahati in 2013. The capital city also hosted the sixth edition in 2017. The last edition was held in Meghalaya.
A tourism department official said around 500 delegates and invitees, including international and domestic tour operators, hoteliers and homestay owners, tourism service providers, influencers and opinion makers, senior officials from the central and state governments, media and international students.
This is the first time the event is being held in the Kaziranga.
“All northeastern states will have their own stalls to showcase their handloom items. There will be a crafts bazaar. Both the state government and the tourism ministry will be hosting a dinner each in Guwahati as part of the event. We have also arranged around 100 vehicles for jeep safaris for the participants,” the official said.
The state’s tourism sector has been doing well, according to the state tourism Jayanta Mallah Baruah.
In September, he said that there was a footfall of crore tourists in 2023-24, breaking the record set in 2022–23 of 98.31 lakh tourists. The number of foreign tourists also saw a significant rise in this period from 6,000 to 42,000.
The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) remains the most sought-after destination for tourists. Manas National Park and Kamakhya Temple are the other key destinations.
Director-general, tourism, Mugdha Sinha said on Friday: “The three-day Mart will feature a variety of activities, including presentations by state governments, B2B meetings, panel discussions, food demonstrations, cultural evenings, live music, a North East Bazaar...
“There will also be technical visits to significant sites such as Charaideo Moidam (newest and 43rd UNESCO World Heritage Site of India), Kaziranga National Park (Celebrates 50 years as National Park), Hathikuli Tea Estate and the Orchid and Biodiversity Park,” she had said.
