14th International Tourism Mart Concludes in Tawang

The 14th International Tourism Mart, organised by the Ministry of Tourism with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the other North Eastern states, wound up its main sessions at Tawang on 30 October 2026. The Mart runs from 29 to 31 October 2026 and is built to put the tourism potential of the North East in front of buyers who can sell it.

Who came

• 43 international buyers from 22 countries, among them Australia, Bhutan, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States
• 42 domestic buyers from 16 States and Union Territories
• 81 sellers, along with media representatives, influencers and other stakeholders
• 1580 business-to-business meetings were held

The ministers' meeting

Deliberations closed with a regional meeting of the tourism ministers of the North Eastern states, chaired by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Thematic presentations covered Dekho Apna Desh 2.0, built around redistributing tourism demand towards lesser-known destinations, and the National Digital Tourism Stack, a common digital ecosystem meant to make experiences easier to discover and book and to widen market access for guides, homestays and small operators. Ministers also heard presentations on the live concert economy and on simplifying Restricted Area Permit and Protected Area Permit procedures.

Figures from the keynote

Additional Secretary and Director General in the Ministry of Tourism, Suman Billa, said in his keynote that domestic tourist visits had grown from 1.32 billion in 2014 to 4.34 billion in 2025, a compound annual growth of about 11 per cent. Tourism supports 89 million jobs and contributes 5.22 per cent of national GDP. Airports in the North Eastern Region have risen from 9 in 2014 to 17, and the national highway network there from 10,905 km to 16,207 km.

All eight North Eastern states presented their attractions. The Mart was inaugurated on 29 October 2026 in the presence of Shekhawat, Minister of State Suresh Gopi, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang. The 14th edition brought the Mart back to Tawang after 13 years, the second edition having been held there in 2013.