The European Union (EU) has withdrawn its negative travel advisory for Assam, except for the three districts under the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act or AFSPA, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.
EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin informed the Assam chief secretary that the restriction has been lifted from Friday, he said.
"After reviewing the situation in Assam, the EU has withdrawn the negative travel advisory from yesterday. Effectively, it means that the 27 member-states of the EU have lifted the restrictions for its citizens travelling to our state, barring the three districts of Charaideo, Tinsukia and Sivasagar which are under AFSPA," Sarma said on Facebook Live.
He said that the USA and Canada are yet to lift the travel restrictions for Assam, and the state government was pursuing the matter with them.
Australia and Japan had earlier withdrawn similar advisories for their citizens last year, the CM added.
In a post on X later, the chief minister said, "Encouraging news for Assam. After Australia and Japan, now EU member states have revised their travel advisories and removed restrictive guidance for their citizens visiting the state."
"This development, following the recent visit of EU diplomats, is a strong vote of confidence in Assam and bodes well for deeper EU Assam engagement. It will further strengthen tourism, business, and people-to-people ties," he said, expressing gratitude to Delphin for his support in taking it forward.
Sharing details on the state government pursuing the foreign nations to lift travel restrictions on Facebook Live, Sarma said the embassies were being contacted since the investment summit 'Advantage Assam 2.0' was organised here in February 2025.
"We were contacting the embassies to persuade them that Assam is peaceful now, and their citizens should not face restrictions in coming here. Australia and Japan lifted the advisory last year, but the EU had not done it," he said.
"After pursuing for a long time, we have been successful in getting the advisory lifted by the EU now," Sarma added.
He emphasised that with the restrictions lifted, the state could expect an inflow of tourists from the EU member-states, and it has to ramp up its facilities to attract the visitors.
The CM maintained that EU tourists are likely to prefer staying close to nature when they come here.
"We have to plan for homestays, nature-themed camps, huts, etc in such a way. We have to showcase our ethnic food to the tourists," Sarma said.
He underlined the importance of publicising the USP of the state through social media, especially in English, to ensure maximum outreach.
The CM said he will also instruct the Tourism department to develop a good website where all homestays are registered and tourists can book through a single-window facility.
"Tourism provides maximum employment and is another step towards an 'atmanirbhar Assam'. To attract tourists, we have to keep our tourism spots clean, improve the homestays and publicise through social media," Sarma added.
The barrier had impacted Assam's tourism potential since 1979, the chief minister said and expressed confidence that continued efforts would further position the state prominently on the global tourism map.
On the possible visit of Japan's Prime Minister to Assam next month, Sarma said the state is looking forward to host the "high-level dignitaries" from July one to three, without naming the likely foreign delegates.