GUWAHATI, Aug 10 - With Assam once again back in the headlines for a ghastly act of terror, the State Tourism department�s renewed big-ticket plans to woo domestic and international tourists towards brand �Awesome Assam� through a popular celebrity of Indian film industry has taken a back-seat, at least for time being.
Last Friday�s incident of terror at a market near Kokrajhar that claimed lives of 14 innocent civilians has come at a juncture when the think-tank of the State Tourism department was steps away from announcing the brand ambassador for its new-found tagline �Awesome Assam�.
As per the plans, the brand �Awesome Assam� was soon to be promoted across the country in different languages involving a celebrity face through mass media.
�Tourism and terrorism cannot go side by side. The last 18 months were encouraging for us and other promoters of tourism in Assam as there was hardly any major incident of terror during the period. The latest incident has virtually encumbered the department�s promotional drive. We are in the last stage of finalising our brand ambassador. After last Friday�s incident, we better hold our horses,� a senior Tourism department official told this reporter.
The scale of terror witnessed in Kokrajhar on August 5 is the ugliest after the December 2014 incidents where militants swooped down on people residing in remote areas of Sonitpur and the BTAD claiming several lives.
�Since that December 2014 incident, no such case of mass killing was reported in the State, which aided to our credentials of being a safe place. The improved law and order scenario was virtually like a catch-line for tourism promoters in Assam. But then, the Kokrajhar incident happened,� rued a top Tourism department official, adding, �we hope, this is just a one-off incident.�
The State Government in the recent years made desperate attempts to shrug off the �disturbed area� tag and campaigns to woo both domestic and international tourists citing the improved security scenario were also launched outside the State.
It had even decided to take a leaf out of Gujarat�s book by deciding to choose a popular celebrity to market its hitherto unexplored tourism potential. In fact, the State�s tourism campaign was given a kick-start last year through various promotional events in Western India and also South India. Gujarat had successfully appointed megastar Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador to promote the state�s tourism potential.
Known for being the home to the rare one-horned rhino and a potential hub for tea tourism, Assam saw a footfall of 45,00,000 domestic tourists during 2014-15, while the number of overseas tourists to the State was recorded at around 25,000.
�We have plans to double the tourist flow to Assam in the next couple of years. We are confident of achieving that provided hiccups like the Kokrajhar incident do not come in the way. Safety quotient of the State is of prime importance to promote tourism,� sources opined.