New Delhi — The tourism ministry has sought easing of protected area permit (PAP) and restricted area permit (RAP) restrictions in the northeast region to boost tourist footfall.
The ministry has asked the home ministry to consider liberalizing permits required by foreign travelers after reviewing the security situation.
“We have a ‘look east’ policy but we must also ‘act east’. We have asked the home ministry if they could liberalize the permits required in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim without compromising on security,” Lalit Panwar, union tourism secretary, said.
The last such review took place in 2011 with the home ministry allowing the entire area of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland to be excluded from the protected area regime.
Foreign travelers, who visit PAP, RAP areas are expected to take a permit to travel in these areas and report to the foreign registrar officer within a day of their arrival, The Times of India reported.
Tourism to the northeast has been on an upswing recently and the government hopes to capitalize on this boom. Tourist arrivals to northeast have increased by 12.5% from 58,920 in 2011 to 66,302 in 2012 and by 27.9% in 2013 with an increase to 84,820.
Some of the restrictions that foreign travelers face while visiting the region include the necessity of traveling in a group of two or more, entering and exiting only by air and not visiting any other tourist circuit or route except the one specified in the permit.
Tourists need to keep sufficient number of photocopies of the permit as he or she may be required to deposit a copy at each point of entry and exit. Foreigners can travel by road but the tour should be undertaken largely through the national highways.
Tourism minister Mahesh Sharma has recently spoken about tackling “terrorism” with “tourism”. Taking a cue, the ministry is working towards improving connectivity and infrastructure in the region. northeast has also been included as a circuit under the flagship scheme ‘Swadesh Darshan’.