Six nations advise against travel to Northeast; Assam seeks review

Northeast states, including Assam, have come under scrutiny as six countries have issued travel advisories for their citizens, cautioning them against visiting the region due to concerns over the prevailing law and order situation. 

Assam Tourism Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass shared this development in the Assembly on March 25. Dass was replying to a query from Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed.

The countries that have issued the restrictions are the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada and Switzerland.

The restrictions are for Assam as well as other northeastern states citing the law and order situation, he said.

Dass said the Tourism Department, on behalf of the state government, is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to persuade these countries to lift these restrictions.

“A high-level team from Australia had recently visited Assam to look into this aspect," the minister added.

He further said the number of tourists visiting the state in the 2022-23 fiscal was 98,31,141, which had dropped to 70,67,335 in 2023-24 and was at 67,88,565 in 2024-25 (till January).

On the promotion of tea tourism, Dass said the ‘Promotion and Development of Tea Tourism Infrastructure in Assam’ scheme was taken up by the state government in 2022-23.

Under the scheme, selected tea gardens will receive Rs 2 crore grant for the development of tourism potential and heritage bungalows.

A total of 22 tea gardens were selected in the first phase and another 34 in the second phase under the scheme, the minister added.