From 'someday' to 'today': Northeast India opens to more travelers

For years, the Northeast had a peculiar problem as a tourist destination: everyone knew it was beautiful, but getting there was another matter.

The mountains, forests, rivers, wildlife, monasteries, food and festivals were all there. What was often missing was the ease of reaching them. That equation now appears to be shifting. Tourist numbers show that more travellers are making their way into the region, although the gains remain uneven across its eight states.

According to data shared by the Ministry of Tourism in a recent answer to the Lok Sabha, Assam remained the Northeast’s biggest domestic tourism draw in 2025, recording 90.55 lakh tourist visits. Meghalaya followed with 18.48 lakh and Sikkim with 16.55 lakh. Arunachal Pradesh recorded 9.13 lakh visits, Mizoram 8.28 lakh and Tripura 6.81 lakh.

Sikkim, however, stands apart when it comes to foreign tourists. It recorded 68,992 foreign tourist visits in 2025, the highest among the Northeastern states and more than twice Assam’s 33,858. Tripura recorded 27,320 foreign visits and Mizoram 11,484.

The figures from this year offer another interesting sign. Between January and June, Sikkim recorded 23.53 lakh domestic tourist visits, already more than it received in the whole of 2025. Assam recorded 46.04 lakh visits during the same period.

Though the picture is less encouraging in some of the other states. Nagaland recorded 1.27 lakh domestic visits in 2025, while Manipur recorded just 25,281. Still, the numbers point to a region whose tourism map is gradually becoming broader.

A destination built around experiences

The Northeast has something many destinations spend years trying to create: a strong sense of place.

Its festivals, food, music, indigenous traditions, wildlife and landscapes offer travellers experiences that cannot easily be packaged or reproduced elsewhere.

The Centre has been trying to bring that diversity to a wider audience through the Incredible India digital platform, social media, exhibitions and promotional campaigns. The International Tourism Mart, held in the region since 2013, is another part of that effort. Its latest edition was held in Gangtok in November 2025.

And when it comes to experiences, festivals have naturally become a major draw.

Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival, Meghalaya’s Wangala and Nongkrem festivals, Arunachal Pradesh’s Orange and Tawang festivals, Mizoram’s Chapchar Kut and Winter festivals, and Tripura’s Neermahal and Chabimura festivals have received Central assistance over the years.

For visitors, though, the festival is often just the beginning. A trip can stretch into local food, music, handicrafts, adventure activities, homestays and guided experiences.

That matters because tourism is not only about how many people arrive. It is also about how long they stay and where they spend their money.

An additional night could mean another booking at a homestay, another taxi ride, a meal at a local restaurant or a purchase from an artisan. In smaller destinations, those individual transactions can make a considerable difference.

Getting there is still half the story

The biggest obstacle has always been familiar: distance.

Connectivity has consequently become a major part of the Northeast’s tourism push. Under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme, tourism routes supported through Viability Gap Funding include Dibrugarh-Dimapur, Dimapur-Imphal, Agartala-Aizawl, Dibrugarh-Imphal and Hollongi-Guwahati.

For a region where a journey of a few hundred kilometres can take several hours on winding roads, better air links can make destinations considerably more accessible.

The price of popularity

Yet, there is another side to the tourism boom.

Many of the places drawing visitors are also ecologically fragile or closely linked to local communities. More tourists mean more business, but they also mean more pressure on roads, water supply, sanitation and waste management.

Tourism infrastructure in the region is being supported under schemes such as Swadesh Darshan 2.0, PRASHAD, Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development, Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment and Challenge Based Destination Development.

Swadesh Darshan 2.0, with its emphasis on sustainable and responsible tourism, takes a destination-based approach, something that could be particularly important in the Northeast as visitor numbers rise.

The Ministry has also said it conducted 200 Swachhta Action Plan activities during 2025-26, involving tourists, students and tourism stakeholders, besides cleanliness campaigns carried out across the region.

There is no single Northeast tourism story.

Assam has the numbers and the advantage of being a major gateway. Sikkim has established itself as the region’s strongest draw for foreign visitors. Meghalaya has built a sizeable domestic market around its waterfalls, caves and living-root bridges. Arunachal Pradesh offers mountains, monasteries and adventure, while Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura bring their own mix of culture, heritage and nature.

Manipur, despite its considerable tourism potential, continues to see much smaller numbers.

For years, the Northeast was the destination people spoke about visiting “someday”.

The latest numbers suggest that more of those plans are finally turning into journeys.