Meghalaya is looking to move on from tourism hiccups and hurdles that have been experienced recently but long-term challenges remain as the state seeks to capitalise on its natural beauty, festivals and other draws.
A conclave was held here today with local stakeholders from the tourism industry.
Illegal checking of migrant workers’ paperwork by pressure groups and the setting up of unauthorised checkpoints was the first bump in the road of tourism in Meghalaya this summer and it was followed by an incident where tourist taxi drivers from Assam were turned away from Umtyngngar (along with their passengers) by more pressure groups that led to numerous cancellations and changes in travel plans by tourists.
The Mawjymbuin cave issue then arose, with the local dorbar deciding to disallow religious activity there; the cave’s stalagmite is thought to resemble a Shiva lingam by Hindus. Although the state and local authorities denied any communal angle, heated language used on social media by rival camps almost made it seem like Hindu tourists were unwelcome.
The turmoil in Bangladesh has also resulted in a drop of visitors from the neighbouring country. Here, too, rhetoric warning against Bangladeshi migrants or refugees could lead to a greater tourism backlash.
At the conclave, long-term issues were raised by hoteliers and others involved in tourism. These include poor road connectivity, erratic power supply and weak mobile connectivity in rural areas, among other problems.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma assured that the state government will look into the recommendations provided by the stakeholders.
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh reiterated that what happened at Umtyngngar was unfortunate but the government sought to address the issue with today’s conclave.
“The conclave was to get the various stakeholders to ventilate and express themselves, not on just law and order, but on the various shortcomings of the tourism sector and how the government can pitch in in order to handhold them and enable them to develop this sector to its maximum potential,” he said.
Asked if the decision of the Mawsynram dorbar shnong to refuse to permit religious worship at Mawjymbuin would be a setback for tourism, the minister disagreed. He argued that all tourism sites in Meghalaya should be accessible to all visitors, including to the disabled and members of all faiths and none, so the secular credentials of tourism destinations should be kept intact.
Concerning the situation in Bangladesh, Lyngdoh said that there has been a slight drop in the number of visitors from Bangladesh given the turmoil prevailing there. But the overall situation is “normal”, he added, while looking forward to the arrival of musicians Alan Walker and Bryan Adams later this year to boost visitor numbers.
