India plans to double the inflow of foreign and domestic tourists to its states in the northeast region inhabited mainly by various tribes, according to a local daily report Wednesday.

Indian Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay Tuesday asked the northeastern states to step up their efforts to bring in more foreign and domestic tourists to the region, reported the local daily in Guwahati, state capital of Assam.

The tourism minister also floated the idea of promoting the tourism potential of the entire northeast region as a whole and asked the regional office of the India Tourism Development Corporation to rope in prominent film personalities as "brand ambassadors" if required.

"About 7 million domestic and foreign tourists visit various tourism destinations of the northeast region every year. However, it is a very negligible figure compared to other states of the country," he was quoted as saying.