NEW DELHI: Far-flung and remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh could soon receive foreign tourists with the Centre moving to ease entry rules under the ‘protected area permit regime’. The north-eastern state is likely to be the first beneficiary of the more relaxed norms, with Sikkim and Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir likely to be progressively opened up.
After a meeting of the inter-ministerial coordination committee on tourism sector, the government has decided that tourists visiting Arunchal Pradesh will now be able to acquire inner-line and protected area permits for a period of five years, instead of the two-year permits that were allowed earlier.