AITTC signs a MOU with NEITO to open India’s North East Frontier for Australians

By  Sandip Hor

As per data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), India features as one of the most popular destinations for Australian travellers. However travel to the eight North Eastern states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim – each of which is gifted with a diverse range of tourist attractions from splendid nature and diverse wildlife to colourful culture and vibrant history, has been limited. To boost this Australia India Travel & Tourism Council(AITTC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Northeast India Tour Operators Association (NEITO), which comprise of Ministry of Tourism (India) approved inbound tour operators specialised for the North East destinations.

It was signed by Madhushmita Khound , Secretary NEITO in Guwahati  and  Sandip Hor, Chairman AITTC in Sydney.

The AITTC part of the signing was done on 18 January 2019 in presence of B Vanlalvawna, – Consul General of India in Sydney, Chandru Appar – Deputy Consul General of India in Sydney, Barbara Ward – President NSW Australia India Business Council, Phillip Bonicace – Co Chairman AITTC and Vishnu Daram – Seccretary AITTC.

“This is a major step to put North East India under the tourism radar in Australia”, said Chairman Hor after the signing. According to him, attractions of the region like the Assam’s Brahmaputra River Cruise and the  Kaziranga National Park – famous for one-horned rhinos, Tripura’s Royal Palaces Sikkim’s Himalayan beauty, Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival and many more have tremendous potential to add a new dimension to international tourism growth in India.

The two main purposes of this MOU are to enhance destination knowledge among Australians and to facilitate the establishment of a suitable ‘travel & tourism connect’ between Australia and North East India.

While India Tourism office in Singapore now looks after the Australian market, tourism related services are also provided by the Indian Consulate in Sydney, located at 265 Castlereagh Street, Sydney.