Kohima, Jan 7 To promote tourism and to facilitate the visit of foreign tourists, the Nagaland government has decided to urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to exclude the state from the purview of the Protected Area Permit (PAP), officials said here on Tuesday.
Any foreigner keen to visit certain northeastern states, including Nagaland, has to mandatorily obtain the PAP, also known as the Restricted Area Permit, from the MHA.
A Nagaland government official said that the cabinet in its meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, on Monday discussed the PAP issue and decided to request the MHA to withdraw the PAP regime in the northeastern state.
As part of security measures and considering the northeastern region's strategic location, sensitive nature, and geopolitical issues, the PAP had been in place for foreigners since the 1960s. The travel restriction was temporarily relaxed in 2010-11 in a bid to promote tourism.
The relaxation was withdrawn by the MHA last year in the aftermath of the political unrest in Bangladesh and internal turmoil in Myanmar besides the ethnic conflict in Manipur.
Besides Nagaland, the PAP is now in force in several other northeastern states.
In the cabinet meeting, the ministers discussed the successful celebration of the famous 10-day long ‘Hornbill Festival’ from December 1 with around 2,530 foreign tourists attending the iconic event.
The 25th edition of the annual Hornbill Festival, at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, 12 km from the state capital Kohima, drew a total of 2,05,968 visitors over the course of 10 days (December 1-10, 2024).
According to an official of the Nagaland Tourism Department, last month's festival attracted a diverse crowd, with 2,527 foreign tourists, 56,217 domestic visitors, and 1,47,224 local attendees.
The official said that the festival saw a remarkable increase of 33.7 per cent in footfall compared to 2023 when 1,54,057 visitors attended.
In the silver jubilee edition of the Hornbill Festival this year, Japan, the US, the UK's Wales, and Peru were the country partners while Sikkim and Telangana were the partner states.
The Chief Minister had said that the policy of partner countries and states has added a multi-dimensional aspect to the festival, fostering collaborations, partnerships, and developmental possibilities.
The Music Festival has transcended boundaries, positioning Nagaland as an international music destination and providing unparalleled platforms for our talents within the state, Rio had said adding that "most importantly, our collective goal of promoting, preserving, and celebrating our age-old traditions, rich cultural heritage, and the Naga way of life continues to be strengthened through this event".
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