Over 1.6 lakh people throng Hornbill Festival venue in Nagaland

Kisama, Nagaland: The Hornbill Festival of Nagaland has so far witnessed over 1.60 lakh visitors, including foreign tourists, domestic and locals thronging the picturesque Naga Heritage Village, some 12 km from the state capital. According to a statistics provided by the Tourism department of Nagaland, the ongoing 10 day long festivities as on the eighth day on Sunday had witnessed a total of 1,61,784 tourists which include 1347 foreign tourists, 14,237 domestic tourists and 1,311,35 local tourists witnessing the Hornbill festival, which is aptly termed the Festival of Festivals.[caption id=“attachment_1277215” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  President Pranab Mukherjee in Naga traditional attire during the opening day of the state’s annual Hornbill festival at the Naga heritage village Kisema in the outskirts of Kohima on 1 December. PTI[/caption] Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the festivities at Kisama, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said that there has been overwhelming response from both foreign and domestic tourists as well as the local visitors thronging the picturesque venue of biggest indigenous festival in the region. He said that this year the figures of visitors thronging the state has been over 1.60 lakh so far, and it will surely see improvements in the years to come. He also conveyed that Nagaland has become a safe destination for the tourists and visiting the state during the Hornbill festival one can witness the beautiful culture and tradition of all the different tribes of the state. The festival inaugurated by the President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 December last will conclude on Tuesday. PTI