“The fact that tourism can change the face of the state is yet to be grasped. Even a state like Meghalaya has a higher budget than ours,” rued an official, citing the impact of the sector in Sikkim and Goa to buttress his point.

Since 1997, the total number of tourists visiting Assam hovered around a million, with a minuscule number of foreign tourists. The official claimed that the total inflow can be increased at least “five times” with a bit of “pragmatic handling” of the sector and “foresight” on the part of the policymakers.