Nagaland recorded 28,436 tourist visits in six months, while Centre provided INR 425 crore for festivals since 2014
KOHIMA — Nagaland recorded 28,436 tourist visits—including 27,305 domestic and 1,131 foreign visitors—during the first six months of 2026, according to data presented by the Union Ministry of Tourism in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat provided the figures in response to a starred question on tourist footfall in the north-eastern region, citing data from state tourism departments.
Nagaland recorded 1,27,428 domestic and 5,425 foreign tourist visits in 2025, taking the annual total to 1,32,853.
The minister also informed the House that the Centre has provided Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of INR 425 crore to the Nagaland government since 2014 for organising fairs and festivals under the Domestic Promotion and Publicity including Hospitality (DPPH) scheme.
The Hornbill Festival received INR 25 crore each in 2014-15 and 2016-17. In 2017-18, INR 50 crore was provided for the Sekrenyi Festival, Hornbill Festival and Rengma’s Ngadah Festival.
In 2019-20, the Centre sanctioned INR 25 crore for Hornbill, INR 10 crore for Thuwu-Ni and INR 15 crore for Sukhrunye Festival. In 2021-22, Hornbill received INR 20 crore and Angami Sekrenyi INR 10 crore.
In 2022-23, INR 25 crore was provided for Hornbill, while Ahuna, Runa, Sekrenyi and the Autumn Festivals at Nagaland Houses in Kolkata and New Delhi received INR 5 crore each.
In 2023-24, INR 10 crore was sanctioned for Autumn Festival at Nagaland House, New Delhi, and INR 25 crore for the Cuisine and Music Festival at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama.
During 2024-25, INR 30 crore was provided for Autumn Fest, INR 25 crore for the Traditional Food & Folk Music Festival at Dimapur and INR 25 crore for the Cultural Fair at Tzurang Valley in Mokokchung district.
In 2025-26, Autumn Fest received INR 25 crore, Naga Wrestling INR 25 crore and the Cultural Folk and Music Festival INR 30 crore.
Tourism projects
The minister also listed tourism projects sanctioned in Nagaland under various central schemes.
Under Swadesh Darshan, INR 97.36 crore was sanctioned in 2015-16 for development of the Tribal Circuit covering Peren-Kohima-Wokha, while INR 98.14 crore was sanctioned in 2016-17 for the Mokokchung-Tuensang-Mon circuit.
Under Swadesh Darshan 2.0, three projects were sanctioned in Chümoukedima: Adventure Tourism Experience at Jacob Village (INR 32.54 crore), Eco-Tourism Experience at Chümoukedima Viewpoint (INR 7.87 crore) and Tribal Cultural Experience at Midway Retreat (INR 21.57 crore).
Two projects were sanctioned under the Challenge-Based Destination Development programme: Trails: The Impur Heritage Experience at Impur village (INR 24.94 crore) and Wings Over Doyang: An Eco-Tourism Haven at Doyang Reservoir (INR 9.99 crore).
Under the PRASHAD scheme, INR 25.20 crore was sanctioned in 2018-19 for development of pilgrimage infrastructure in Nagaland, while INR 18.18 crore was sanctioned in 2022-23 for pilgrimage tourism infrastructure at Zunheboto.