States » EastPosted at: Jun 26 2025 12:04PM


Tourism industry hits lowest ebb in Manipur

Imphal, June 26 (UNI) Widespread Covid infections followed by the Manipur crisis from May 3, 2023, have hit the tourism sector hard in Manipur with footprints of domestic and foreign tourists declining coupled with strict regulations imposed by the government on tourists.
Manipur always remains a restricted area for foreign tourists as Protected Area Permit (PAP) is required to visit the state. It was relaxed for some time, however, it was reinstated on December 19, 2024 under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958 .
H Radhakrishna, managing partner of Seven Sisters Holidays, said the regulations governing visits to Manipur are ambiguous and even specialized travel and tour operators are not aware of the frequent changes in rules and regulations. It discourages foreign tourists as they have to go through several formal processes of getting the green signal to visit the state, he said.
The rules are so complex that an Indian citizen from Manipur who marries a foreigner and whose children are foreigners is not even able to visit Manipur and hence they come to other states of India and their families go to the specific place to meet them, he added.
The popular Sangai Festival was cancelled due to Covid and the crisis which started in Manipur’s Churachandpur district and even the Polo international tournaments were cancelled. A member of All Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association (MHRPA) said it is a dream for every polo player in the world to visit Manipur as modern polo started in Manipur and the Manipur Polo international held in November every year is participated by many foreign countries.
This year the International polo tournaments will be organized and the lengthy process of taking permissions, permits, clearances from the different agencies of the Central government have already started, according to the organizers.
Mairenbam Tomcha who operates a tourist site at Loktak lake, the biggest freshwater lake in eastern India, said tourists were hesitant to visit the area after Kuki militants shot dead a person at the residence of former Chief Minister M Koireng. Earlier hundreds of people came to see Sangai (brown antlered deer) which live in the floating islands at Loktak lake.
Officials at Imphal Peace memorial, Bishenpur district where the Japanese government has constructed a memorial in memory of about 60,000 Japanese soldiers who died in Manipur during WW-II, said after the crisis the numbers of visitors has come down to almost nil.
Earlier family members of Japanese soldiers and Allied forces numbering around 1.3 lakh used to visit the place after completing the complex formalities. However, nowadays the tourist circuits have almost closed down.
The recent announcement by the US government not to visit Manipur will also impact the sector as many other nations will also follow the decision, according to a tour operator. The Manipur government has not yet reacted to the ban.

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