-KH News Desk (editorial1@imaws.org)
A new report by HVS Anarock, titled “Northeast India: A Hidden Gem for Tourism Potential,” highlights that significant government investment in multimodal connectivity—including road, rail, and air—is rapidly boosting tourism and branded hotel supply in the Northeast region. The government’s focus on creating this extensive connectivity ecosystem is strategically aimed at reducing travel time, lowering transportation costs, and ultimately unlocking the region’s vast tourism potential. The Northeast, despite its breathtaking landscapes, rich traditions, and immense cultural and geographical variety (which the Ministry of Tourism rightly terms the “Paradise Unexplored”), accounted for only 0.43 per cent of India’s Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) and 1.17 per cent of Foreign Tourist Visits (FTVs) in 2024. Government policy intervention and infrastructure development are expected to significantly boost these numbers.
Key Infrastructure Developments
The report provides concrete examples of the infrastructure improvements that are directly impacting travel and tourism growth:
- Road Network: Rapid highway development is prioritizing both intra-regional and inter-state road links. For instance, the driving time between Itanagar and Guwahati has been dramatically reduced from approximately 10–12 hours just a decade ago to around 5.5–6 hours today, thanks to the construction of new roads, widening of key highway stretches, and the development of bypass routes.
- Rail Acceleration: The pace of railway projects has “significantly accelerated.” Between 2014 and 2024, approximately 1,728 km of new tracks were laid, averaging 172.8 km per year, which is a sharp increase compared to the 333 km laid between 2009 and 2014 (averaging 66.6 km a year).
- Airports and Traffic: Operational airports in the region have more than doubled to 19 in 2024 from just nine in 2013. Correspondingly, passenger and cargo traffic has increased by 113 per cent over the last decade. Post-pandemic, air traffic rebounded strongly, registering an impressive growth of 52 per cent in 2022 and 54 per cent in 2023, reaching an all-time high of approximately 11.2 million passengers by 2024.
Hospitality Growth Outlook
To cater to the expected surge in tourism, branded hotel room supply is expanding rapidly across the Northeast:
- Branded Supply Doubling: The region is projected to nearly double its branded hotel supply by 2030, with a pipeline of more than 3,000 new rooms.
- Current Inventory: As of June 2025, the Northeast accounted for over 3,400 branded hotel keys, representing a small fraction (just 1.7 per cent) of India’s overall branded inventory.
- State-wise Pipeline: Assam is set to receive the lion’s share, with 2,000 branded hotel rooms expected by 2030, followed by Arunachal Pradesh with an addition of 660 rooms.
