Manipur tourism commissioner pitches for relaxing PAP norms for Indian-origin foreign tourists

Tawang, Oct 30 (PTI) The situation in the valley areas of Manipur has improved significantly since the ethnic violence broke out in 2023, a top official of the Manipur government said on Friday, suggesting that the Centre consider relaxing the norms for issuing Protected Area Permits to foreign tourists of Indian origin to boost tourism in the northeastern state.

    In an exclusive interview with PTI, Manipur Tourism Commissioner Kheda Varta Singh also said the tourism ministry and the home ministry may consider earmarking certain areas in the valley, which are not sensitive and contain tourist sites, as exempt from the Protected Area Permit (PAP) requirement.

    PAP is needed by foreign tourists to enter the protected areas in Manipur.

    Singh, who also holds the charge as secretary in Manipur Tourism, made a detailed presentation on the tourism offerings of his state on Day 2 of the International Tourism Mart 2026 here.

    During the presentation with the tagline ‘Manipur – The Land of Jewels’, Singh said the state, which shares borders with Myanmar, is also a gateway to Southeast Asia.

    Singh said, “70-80 per cent of the important and iconic tourist sites in Manipur are in the valley, where the situation has almost returned to normal.”

    The security issue is now “restricted mostly to the hill areas, the northern part of the state”, he claimed.

    There have been no more instances of violence in the past six months, so tourists have started to come in, the senior official said.

    However, he underlined, “I won't say the violence is completely gone, but it is (being reported) in very interior places now.”

    Presenting one of his slides titled ‘Key Challenges’, Singh said the regional unrest “creates travel advisories, deters casual tourists, and restricts inter-district transit”, and pitched for establishing a “simplified clearance protocol”, or to empower local authorities or the department to “issue PAP to verified low-risk applicants”.

    Later, interacting on the sidelines of the conclave that seeks to promote tourism in the Northeast, Singh said it's "a request we want to place before the Ministry of Tourism, which would have to be further taken up with the Ministry of Home Affairs”.

    “Manipur is a sensitive zone, as it also shares borders with Myanmar. But for tourism to come to the state, arrangements can be made for people of Indian origin wanting to visit Manipur with family, provided there is no sensitivity issue,” Singh told PTI.

    The tourism commissioner also said that “if people coming to Manipur mention the areas they intend to visit, those could be declared as exempt from PAP if they are found to be non-sensitive areas”.

    Asked if the state would send a formal request to the Centre in this regard, he said the department plans to take up the matter with the topmost level in the state government first.

    Manipur, one of the eight northeastern states, is known for its natural beauty, rich flora and fauna, and vibrant cultural heritage.

    Singh said the valley area in central Manipur spans roughly 2,000 sq km, and some of the tourist locations in the region include the Loktak Lake, a 122-foot statue of 'God of Polo' celebrating the sport’s origin in Manipur, a war memorial paying tribute to the resistance offered by the Manipuri people to the British forces in 1891, and the Japanese War Memorial, among others.

    To buttress his claim that the situation in the valley is returning to normal, he cited the recent visit of a “huge Korean delegation” from October 19-24, and said its members stayed for almost a week, and “nothing happened”.

    From November 1-7, a Japanese delegation will visit the state, including the Japanese War Memorial in the valley, he said.

    Singh also spoke of ‘Mera Houchongba’, a native festival held in October, and said it promotes solidarity, peace and integrity among the communities in the hills and the valley, when they come together, exchange gifts and celebrate.

    In his presentation, Singh also shared year-wise data on tourist footfall in Manipur in the last few years, which showed that about 1.6 lakh tourists visited the state in 2022-23, including about 5,400 foreign tourists.

    In 2025-26, the total tourist footfall stood at about 30,000, which, Singh said, is expected to rise in subsequent years.

    He also said there will be an “exponential increase” in the number of tourists visiting Manipur with the arrival of railways in Imphal in 2028.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)