Foreign tourists at the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, the main venue of the annual Hornbill Festival on December 4. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Kohima | December 5
Foreign tourist arrivals at Hornbill Festival 2023 have already surpassed the total of the 2022 edition of Nagaland’s premier annual extravaganza, highlighted official data on Tuesday.
According to the day-wise tourist statistics provided by Nagaland Tourism, a total of 1621 foreign tourists have visited the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, the main venue of the festival, by December 5.
In comparison, the total number of foreign visitors during the 10-day celebration in 2022 was only 1026, indicating a positive surge in their arrivals.
The statistics do not specify whether the figure includes returning visitors.
Meanwhile, the highest footfall was recorded on Day 3 at 18002, comprising 423 foreign, 5001 domestic, and 12578 local tourists. The fifth day on December 5 registered the lowest footfall at 11951.
Overall, during the last five days from December 1-5, a total of 78395 tourists have visited the Hornbill Festival. (see table)
Out of this, 1621 were foreign tourists, with the numbers for domestic and local visitors standing respectively at 20659 and 56115.
In 2022, throughout the 10-day long celebration, a total of 1026 foreign and 48,413 domestic tourists visited the festival, while 90,860 local visitors were recorded for a grand total of 140,299.
If the current trend persists, the festival is anticipated to attract more than 1.50 lakh tourists by its conclusion.