Arunachal to open soon for tourism: Khandu

ITANAGAR, Sep 18: Arunachal Pradesh will soon open up to tourists and visitors. This assurance was given by Chief Minister Pema Khandu in response to a memorandum submitted by the Arunachal Himalayan Tourism Development Society (AHTDS) president Tsering Wange at Bomdila on Friday, an AHTDS release said here.

The Chief Minister gave a positive nod to all the points mentioned in the memorandum for revival of tourism in the state. Khandu stated that he is fully aware of the issues faced by the tourism and hospitality industry in the state due to COVID-19 pandemic. He assured to ameliorate the hardships faced by the tourism and hospitality sector.

The AHTDS had submitted a similar memorandum to the Chief Secretary last week for opening up the state to tourists & visitors with proper SOPs in place.

The tourism industry in Arunachal has suffered a lot following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in March last year which affected the livelihood of many stakeholders.

The AHTDS delegation also apprised the Chief Minister about the grievances faced by the hoteliers who were allegedly served with notices by the State Pollution Control Board to pay huge environmental compensation.

Wange added that asking the hotel owners, who have been incurring huge losses since the last 19 months, to pay up or face closure of unit is like putting salt on the fresh wounds.