Tawang tourism mart wraps up: 22 countries, 1,580 business meetings

The 14th International Tourism Mart (ITM) in Tawang ended its main business sessions on Friday after bringing 43 international buyers from 22 countries face to face with tourism sellers from the Northeast, the Union Ministry of Tourism said.

The mart, organised by the ministry with the Arunachal Pradesh government and the other northeastern states, runs from October 29 to 31. It is the first time in 13 years that the event has returned to Tawang, which last hosted it in 2013.

By the numbers

• 43 international buyers from 22 countries, including Australia, Bhutan, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the UAE, the UK and the US;
• 42 domestic buyers from 16 states and Union Territories;
• 81 sellers from the region;
• 1,580 business-to-business meetings held during the mart.

Ministers discuss permits and digital bookings

The sessions closed with a regional meeting of tourism ministers of the northeastern states, chaired by Union Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on October 30.

Officials made presentations on Dekho Apna Desh 2.0, which aims to steer tourists towards lesser-known, tourism-ready destinations as alternatives to crowded hotspots, and on the National Digital Tourism Stack, a common digital platform meant to make local experiences easier to find and book online and to give guides, homestays and small operators better access to markets.

The ministers also discussed the live concert economy, with music and cultural festivals seen as a way to draw visitors and keep them longer, and the Restricted Area Permit and Protected Area Permit regime that governs foreign visitors' access to parts of the region. The ministry said the discussion focused on making permits simpler for tourists, but it has not announced specific changes or a timeline.

Tourism Ministry Director General Suman Billa said domestic tourist visits in India had grown from 1.32 billion in 2014 to 4.34 billion in 2025.

On the opening day, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang had called for a collective approach to sustainable tourism across the eight states and for National Highway 10 to be strengthened as an all-weather road.

What's next

Delegates are scheduled to make technical visits to Buddha Park, PTSO Lake and Shernup village on Saturday, the final day. Post-mart familiarisation tours for international delegates will begin from Guwahati on November 1, taking them to destinations across the Northeast.

The real test for Tawang and the region will be whether the meetings turn into tour packages and bookings. Industry groups have long said permit rules and patchy connectivity hold back foreign arrivals, making any easing of the permit system closely watched.