Assam govt to bring new Tourism Act in upcoming assembly session

Assam Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah on Tuesday announced that the state government will bring a new Tourism Act in the upcoming state assembly session to develop the tourism sector of the state.

“The state government has taken lots of initiatives to develop the tourism sector of the state and the state has witnessed a massive growth of tourist footfall in the state last year. Our government will bring a new Tourism Act in the upcoming state assembly session,” Jayanta Malla Baruah said.

According to the state government data, Assam had recorded a total of 83,81,953 domestic tourist footfall and 9,009 foreign tourist footfall in 2022.

Till September 2023 there has been a domestic footfall of 61,85,639 and 15,332 foreign tourist footfall showcasing an increase of 103 per cent and 523 per cent increase in domestic and foreign tourist footfalls respectively during the same period (till Sept 2023 as against Sept 2022).

The minister further said that the Tourism Department is working on the formulation of a tourism bill to regulate and facilitate the sustainable development of the tourism industry by encouraging practises that minimize negative impacts on the environment, culture and local communities, ensuring long-term viability as well as tourist safety, enhancing the overall experience of tourists through quality services, infrastructure and attractions, promotion of the cultural heritage of destinations.

“The department plans to celebrate Bihu with fervour and showcase the myriad cultures, traditions and heritage throughout the state. To boost religious tourism and pilgrimage a proposal for the development and beautification of Navagraha Temple has been submitted to Govt. of India. Moreover, developmental activities have already been started at Bhima Shankar Jyotirlinga,” he said.

Adding further Baruah said, “To protect the Ahom legacy in Sivsagar District, the Rang Ghar Project has been undertaken for the development and beautification of the historical site. Another initiative has been taken up by the Department to construct a corridor at Kamakhya Temple to transform the grandeur of the ‘Shaktipeeth’ and make it accessible for differently abled and aged devotees.”

He also said that a couple of Major MoUs were signed in the year 2023 by the Department of Tourism in Assam to give a boost to the Tourism Infrastructure in Assam.

“MoU for setting up a 5-star hotel at Kaziranga with Hyatt Group of Hotels. A skill development centre has been set up at Sonapur in association with Tata Strive for undergoing training for personnel engaged in the tourism and hospitality sector. MoU with TATA group for setting up two high-end Tea Tourism resorts at Kaziranga and another MoU with online booking platform Ease My Trip to set up the online booking system for Assam tourism. In the state’s new Tourism Policy, special focus has been given on EoDB and facilitating single window clearance for Film Tourism,” the Minister said.

On the other hand, the Assam government has decided to start re-registration in all the employment exchanges this month by aiming to collect updated data on unemployed educated youths of the state.

Assam Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said that the re-registration process in all the employment exchanges of the state will start this month and the process will be continued till February this year.

On the other hand, talking about the achievement of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state, the Minister said that, so far 70 per cent target has been achieved and the state has targeted to achieve 100 per cent by the end of this year. A total of 20,75,204 (30 per cent) Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) were provided in the year 2023 and the cumulative FHTC progress as of December 30, 2023, is 48,60,749 (69.6 per cent) and 8,817 number of schemes handed over till date. He also said that the state government will construct 1 lakh more toilets in the state this year.

Source: ANI