SHILLONG, June 16: From pristine natural beauty to crafts and cuisine, the Northeast offers on a platter whatever a tourist can desire or dream of, and the region will become a “growth engine” for India’s travel economy in the coming time, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Tuesday.
Shekhawat on Tuesday participated in the North East India Infrastructure Summit & Exhibition 2026, being hosted by Meghalaya at the Lariti Performing Centre in Shillong from June 15-16.
After arriving at the venue late afternoon, the minister for culture and tourism attended a CEO roundtable before taking part in a session.
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After the roundtable, he briefly interacted with a group of reporters and spoke of the rich tourism potential of the Northeast.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has identified the Northeast as the ‘Ashtalakshmi’, Shekhawat said and underlined the infrastructure growth that has taken place in the region.
“The way the work on connectivity is being carried out continuously, and the natural beauty it is endowed with, along with a variety of experiences of culture, craft, cuisines that the bouquet of the Northeast has, the region serves everything on a platter to offer whatever a tourist can desire or dream of,” Shekhawat said.
In the coming time, the Northeast will become “a growth engine for India’s travel economy”, he asserted.
Hundreds of delegates from the northeastern states, the industry, among others, gathered in Shillong – dubbed ‘Scotland of the East’ – for this first-of-its-kind event.
The city is endowed with rich natural cover, old buildings, and the sprawling Shillong Golf Course built in the late 19th century.
The entire Northeast, comprising eight states, is dotted with historic locations, cultural and natural heritage sites, including the Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya.
A replica of a living root bridge has been displayed at the ‘Meghalaya Eco-Pavillion’ put up by the Meghalaya Tourism at the summit.
The inaugural ceremony on Monday was attended by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, and several other dignitaries.
At a thematic session on Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu’s recorded address was played on a screen.
After the roundtable, Shekhawat was given a tour of the exhibition area at the summit venue.
“Given the kind of interest we are seeing among the industry members at the summit, I reckon that in the coming time, the Northeast will become a hub of Indian tourism,” he told reporters.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, who attended the summit on Monday, also said that the Northeast has truly become the “fulcrum of India”, asserting that the “Ashtalakshmi story” was unfolding at an accelerated pace, driving an inclusive, sustainable and globally competitive future. (PTI)
