New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) Northeast, touted as India’s cultural and natural powerhouse, is positioned to emerge as one of India’s most compelling tourism frontiers, according to Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

He called for a sharper focus on last-mile connectivity, integrated planning and sustainability-driven development to unlock long-term value for communities and the wider economy.

The minister also emphasised the importance of developing an annual calendar that highlights all major festivals of the North Eastern Region, thereby fostering wider cultural appreciation and awareness of the region.

Scindia was speaking at the fourth meeting of the high-level task force on tourism in the national capital.

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) had constituted eight high-level task forces, each headed by one of the Chief Ministers of the northeastern states along with Union Minister of DoNER and three Chief Ministers of other NE states as members.

Scindia commended the depth and quality of the presentation and requested the Meghalaya government to submit the final report after incorporating the feedback provided by all members.

According to the ministry, the session marked a critical step in shaping an integrated, action-oriented tourism blueprint for the North East sharpening priorities, identifying bottlenecks, and accelerating coordinated implementation across states.

“Deliberations centred on unlocking the region’s untapped tourism potential by enhancing multimodal connectivity, strengthening world-class tourism infrastructure, developing iconic and globally marketable destinations, expanding adventure and eco-tourism offerings, and introducing new tourism products rooted in the region’s culture, nature and heritage,” according to an official statement.

The meeting also stressed upgrading skilling ecosystems, standardising service delivery, and deepening capacity-building to ensure more local jobs and sustainable industry growth. Strengthened inter-state coordination was highlighted as essential to delivering seamless circuits and curated visitor experiences across the region.

—IANS

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