There is an increasing trend in the number of tourists visiting Guwahati and Assam over the last few years.
“Around 32,000 foreign tourists visited Guwahati in 2017-18 which is the highest in the last seven years,” said a source in the department of tourism.
According to the data derived from the department of tourism, just 16,000 foreign tourists visited Guwahati in 2011-12. The same has swelled to approximately 32,000 in the last financial year.
In 2012-13, 17,708 foreign tourists visited Guwahati, 19,086 in 2013-14, 20,005 in 2014-15, 26,320 in 2015-16, 28,419 in 2016-17 and till October 2017-18, 9,421 foreign tourists have visited Guwahati. The tourism department source revealed that the data for the rest of the months in 2017-18 will be compiled by June but approximately 32,000 foreign tourists have visited Guwahati in the last financial year.
The source said that the maximum foreign tourists that visited Guwahati were British. The source revealed that the international tourists are from various countries but tourists from the United Kingdom have “more idea” about the tourism prospects in Assam.
Talking about domestic tourists, there is a slight improvement. Around 60,00,000 tourists from across the country visited Guwahati in the last financial year.
In 2012-13, 44,08,336 domestic tourists visited Guwahati, 45,44,666 in 2013-14, 44,44,393 in 2013-14, 48,63,826 in 2014-15, 56,42,950 in 2015-16, 57,13,156 in 2016-17 and till October 2017-18, 37,72,089 domestic tourists have visited Guwahati.
Most of the domestic tourists visiting Guwahati are from Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
ATDC to conduct special study on tourist footfall trends
Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) has decided to conduct a study to find out the tourist footfall trends in Assam.
An ATDC source said, “All the hotels will be asked to provide data on a daily basis informing the corporation about the tourist profile visiting Guwahati, their state or country.”
The ATDC is currently not sure of where to promote Assam and where not to, said the source.
The corporation also feels that infrastructure is vital for developing the tourism industry but promotion is also equally important.
There is also confusion in selecting the places where Assam should be promoted, said the source and the study will provide a clearer idea.
The tourists visiting Assam now mostly go to Kaziranga, Manas National Park and Majuli in Assam. The other destination mostly opted for by the tourists is Shillong.
The lack of proper infrastructure in many other tourism spots in Assam has failed to attract tourists; therefore what to develop remains a question with the government.
ATDC tried developing various tourism infrastructure but the investors do not want to invest everywhere in Assam.
ATDC generated Rs 1.5 crores as revenue in 2017-18 from just a single resort in Kaziranga - Aranya. Similarly, there are many other assets which are lying unused because of lack of infrastructure.
A team of tourists from Japan visited Assam in 2017 at the expense of the Indian government. The team came to Assam with a deal that if they like the place, Assam will be extensively promoted in Japan.
The team was content with the hospitality and other amenities but while returning gave a feedback that a place like Kaziranga should have a foreign currency exchange centre. They faced problems exchanging currency, the ATDC source revealed.
After the survey is conducted currency exchange locations can be suitably identified. Also the picture will be clearer as to exchange of which currencies can be facilitated.
The hotels already provide their guest data to the police; the tourism department wants something on the similar lines.
Has Priyanka Chopra’s role as brand ambassador helped in promoting Assam?
After the state tourism minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said that the tourism department will review the contract with Priyanka Chopra, a question was raised whether the Quantico star at all helped in developing Assam tourism in her role as its brand ambassador.
Managing Director of Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), Kausar Hilaly said, “Amitabh Bachchan promoted Gujarat for six years and only thereafter the mega star’s role in promoting Gujarat tourism was known.”
Hilaly explained that the change will not be noticed instantly but there is a lot of traction in the campaigns where Priyanka is involved.
Priyanka will soon visit Assam for the next set of campaigns as her two-year contract will end by December 2018. And the evaluation on the next set of campaigns will decide whether she will remain the brand ambassador of Assam tourism or not.
Chopra has been a part of only one campaign which, according to the tourism department, has been a grand success on foreign and domestic turfs.
The Priyanka Chopra campaign was viewed 6.2 million times on YouTube and around 1.5 million times on other channels.
With the television promotions, around 10 million views of her campaign were reported last time, said a source working with ATDC.
The next set of advertisements featuring Priyanka will be promoted internationally with the star herself promoting them on her social media pages.
The tourism budget this year is Rs 89 crores and Rs 25 crores has been earmarked for advertisement expenses.