Guwahati, Aug. 5: A place that visitors to Assam were advised to avoid 50 years ago is about to become a must-visit in every tourist’s itinerary.

Mayong, the “village of magic” where practitioners of the occult were rumoured to have a predilection for turning people into creepy, crawly creatures, is ready to cast its spell on people across the country in a more positive way.

Tour operators of the state have come together to turn this little hamlet in Morigaon into a tourist hotspot with some out-of-the-box marketing.

“The magic of Mayong and adjoining Pobitora wildlife sanctuary are the focal points of our effort to attract domestic and foreign tourists to the state. We will be arranging fascinating magic shows for tourists during the trip,” the managing director of Tourfed, Amar Bora, said.

Jeep safaris in Pobitora and buffalo cart rides will be other attractions of the trip.

“Apart from being the seat of the occult in the medieval period, Mayong is a site of archaeological importance with relics scattered all over the place,” Bora said.

Tourfed launched its campaign by holding slide shows in Calcutta on July 16 for tour operators from West Bengal, representatives of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and India Tourism officials.

“We will make a similar presentation in New Delhi by the end of this month,” Tourfed’s head honcho said.

“We have also chalked out a low-cost tour, tailor made for budget tourists. In the initial stage, we are targeting West Bengal and Maharashtra, as both the states have a sizeable number of budget tourists,” he added.

Bora and other tour operators are convinced that Mayong is perfect for eco, cultural and river tourism.

“About a couple of years ago, we introduced a cruise on the Brahmaputra from Guwahati to Mayong,” Bora said.

The adjoining Pobitora sanctuary is one of the habitats of the one-horned rhino.

Last year, around 5,000 domestic and 73 foreign tourists visited Mayong. But tour operators are not satisfied. “We want to turn Mayong into the centrepiece of Assam tourism. Because of its proximity to the capital city (it is only 34 km from Guwahati), Mayong has all it needs to catch the attention of the world in a big way,” Bora said.