The mad tourist rush to First World War battlefields in France and other EU nations during its centenary have helped revitalize local economies in the midst of a recession. But unlike the First, the Second World War was as much fought in Europe as in Asia. The Tennis court at Nagaland capital Kohima or the Red Hill near Manipur capital Imphal witnessed as much severe fighting as the streets of Stalingrad or the desert of El Alamein.

For the Japanese, Imphal remained a ‘flower on the lofty heights’ ( desirable but unattainable) , as goes a Japanese proverb. 2015 is the 70^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War . If 2014 could be a year of big time war nostalgia tourism in Europe , 2015 could be something similar for Asia as much as Europe. This is where India’s Northeast and Myanmar’s northern regions could make windfall gains in tourism. So could China’s Yunnan province , where ends the Stillwell Road, one of the engineering marvels of the War.

But while Yunnan is used to large tourist inflows ( it is one of the most showcased of Chinese provinces to foreign tourists because of its natural heritage sites and ethnic diversity), Northeast India and North Myanmar remain isolated backwaters in terms of tourist traffic, despite advantages similar to Yunnan. Tourism accounts for almost 15 percent of Yunnan’s GDP. The province attracts close to 3 million foreign tourists and double that number from elsewhere in China. In the 12^th Five year Plan, Yunnan plans to up its foreign arrival to nearly half a million ( 5 lakhs) overseas tourists. Kunming city is expected to add 11 new mid- to high-end hotels with an inventory of under 4,000 rooms by  2016 from now.

Though India has invested a considerable amount since last year to augment tourist arrivals with its   ‘Paradise Unexplored ‘ campaign, the returns are not yet discernible. Both Northeast India and Northern Myanmar remain battlegrounds of a different kind, home to scores of separatist campaigns by ethnic rebel armies who are unwilling to become part of grandiose post-colonial nation-building projects. Huge military and para-military formations remain deployed in these remote regions.

This is where the 70^th anniversary of the end of war in Asia could provide opportunity for a breakthrough in tourism in a way that could change the local under-developed economies forever. In three recent conferences , I proposed throwing open this whole region to unrestricted tourism ( by freezing the requirement for restricted area permits for 2015 only) so that visitors from all over the world could visit the Kohima-Imphal battlefields or those along the Chindwin ( which saw the famous Chindit operations led by Brigadier Orde Wingate) or the Stillwell Road and surely all the war cemeteries in the area.   

When I proposed trans-regional tour packages that would include visits to battlefields , drive on Stillwell Road or the road to Mandalay ( to recapture Bill Slim’s ‘defeat into victory’ campaign) at the Kolkata-Kunming (K2K) Forum, the Chinese jumped at the prospects. “This is a good way to start big business n tourism on this far forgotten frontier region of the three nations,” said K2K chief organizer Kong Can. Most Chinese delegates at the conference agreed. 

When I made the same proposal at the recent Asian Confluence seminar in Shillong and another organized by Indian Council of Social Science Research, delegates from Northeastern industry and trade circles were enthusiastic but mandarins from Delhi ( including some retired ambassadors  running influential think tanks ) were cautious. Some reasoned the Northeast was not prepared , others were back to the old security logic against opening the Northeast to any trans-regional engagement. Academics were divided – veteran China hands like Patricia Uberoi felt this was worth a try but some continued to take Delhi's security narrative far too seriously. Only a former ambassador to Indonesia felt the proposal made sense because efforts such as these held the key to transforming ‘Look East’ into ‘ Act East’, as Narendra Modi wants it to be .

War Nostalgia Tourism wont need a huge five star infrastructure. Smart tour operators can hire tents from military formations and allow them the chance to showcase regimental histories . Should the Indian army miss such a chance for image building ! But an army that cannot use its massive flood relief operations to advantage in  WHAM ( winning hearts and minds) that is key to successful counter insurgency cannot be expected to be enthused at the prospects of showcasing its rich combat past before thousands of tourists , Indian or from foreign shores. Added to the tent accommodation and trek tours of war sites, what is needed is basic amenities like drinking water , sanitation and medicare with playing of military bands and screening of  relevant films in the evenings. If the army jumps in , private tour operators should be able to manage the anticipated tourist inflows. 

Tiny Belgium alone attracted more than half a million tourists this year to the battlefields of Flanders. Anything like that would not only boost the economies of Nagaland and Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh but also help set the stage for future tourism bonanzas to exploit the region’s ethnic diversity , rich bio-doversity, potential for tea and tribe tourism. That can not only help these dole-seeking states to stand on their own feet and open out to the East with a confidence the mandarins of Delhi clearly lack, but also help test any possible change discernible in Delhi when it comes to acting East.  

 (Mr. Subir Bhaumik is a veteran journalist, former BBC correspondant and author of  two well acclaimed books ‘Insurgent Crossfire’ and ‘Troubled Periphery’ )

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