Volume : 2, Issue : 5, May - 2013

Tourism and Economic Development: A Case Study of Assam

Bandana Chowdhury

Abstract :

Tourism is “activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes” (WTO 2002). Assam is an embodiment of the natural beauty and grace, with dense forests, heavy rains during monsoon, innumerable varieties of flora–fauna, melodious folk music, dances and festivals, variety of many delicious dishes, handlooms and handicrafts, and above all its green landscape representative of the region, has been at the centre stage of tourist attraction. Assam has vast potential for tourism. The paper tries to highlight the potential of tourism in fostering economic development. It also attempts to study the trends in the flow of tourists to Assam and the revenue earnings of the state. Besides, the paper suggests ways for improvement of tourism industry as a perspective tool of economic development in Assam