Nagaland to turn rugged terrain and bad roads into off-roading business

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Sturgis, a city in South Dakota, USA, has inspired the Nagaland government for making use of the state’s rugged terrain and bad roads and turn them into an off-roading business model which has the potential to generate annual revenue of Rs. 100 crore once it hits the roads.

Turning the disadvantage of rocky terrain into an opportunity, the Nagaland government has made a plan to promote off-roading, an activity which involves driving or riding a vehicle on uneven roads or tracks, made of materials like sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks and other natural terrain.

“We want to make Nagaland the off-road capital of the world. Sturgis, a city in the USA, generates revenue of USD 800 million and sustains the livelihoods of 10,000 people through a 10-day motorcycle festival. We are going to do a similar thing here. We have good roads for off-roading and need virtually no investment in terms of infrastructure. All we need is to build capacities in villages. Once it’s operational, it has the potential to generate Rs. 100 crore revenue annually,” said I KittoZhimomi, Commissioner and Secretary Tourism, Government of Nagaland during the International Tourism Mart being held in Kohima.

Nagaland, which is currently hosting the 9th edition of the International Tourism Mart, being held by the Ministry of Tourism, witnessed more than 1.12 lakh tourists during the Hornbill Festival in 2016. As many as 2.82 lakh travelers, including 3,015 foreigners, visited the state during the event in 2019.

The festival was celebrated virtually last year, due to Covid-19 cases in the country. This year’s edition will begin on December 1.

« Back to Page

• Nagaland Tourism Highlights Its Culture and Heritage at the Tsungiki-Philimi Fishing Festival

• Did you know that these places in India require travel permits?

• Record number of tourists in Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival

• Hornbill Festival 2023 Starts at Naga heritage village Kisama, Nagaland

• Bee Tourism to launch at Hornbill Festival in Nagaland