Artistes pose near their stall at Surajkund in Haryana on Tuesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Jan. 31: Assam expects to see a shift of tourist rush from wildlife to the Brahmaputra’s cruise tour-ism this year.

A state-of-the-art cruise ship will be launched in February, Assam tourism secretary Himanshu Shekhar Das said at the Surajkund Mela in Haryana today. “It will be the most modern cruise ship,” he said.

Assam is the theme state at the fair this year.

The extravaganza will be inaugurated tomorrow by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar in the presence of Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

Every year the popular fair, organised by the Haryana government on the outskirts of Delhi, has some state as the theme. It is the first time that Assam has been chosen as a theme, although the Northeast as a region was a theme in 1998. Das said visitors’ rush was pretty high last year with over 15,000 foreign tourists flocking to Assam. From this year, therefore, the state will focus not just on getting tourists to its various wildlife locations like Kaziranga, but also on luxury cruises on the Brahmaputra.

Union tourism secretary R.H. Khwaja said at a joint news conference that the theme Assam at Surajkund is expected to draw huge crowds, which will get a taste of Assamese culture and cuisine.

An Asom ghar will house an Assamese family for a fortnight to give a taste of rural life. Over 50 stalls from the state will display handicrafts and 30 stalls will showcase the state’s weaving prowess.

The partner for Surajkund fair this year is Thailand. The fair will have participants from other Indian states and 11 countries, including all Saarc countries and Congo, West Africa.