By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: There lies a prosperous chance for North East and Meghalaya in particular to tie up with other tourism corporations of the country in order to develop the tourism sector considering the huge potential it shows in the area, observed the Special Chief Secretary, Tourism & Culture department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Chandana Khan.
“There is no doubt that with mutual understanding and promotion of each other’s tourism, this sector could go a long way in eradicating poverty and unemployment besides exposing the beauty of the state concerned”, Khan told reporters here on Tuesday.
Stating tourism as an ‘anti poverty driver’, the Andhra Pradesh special CS said that it is a well known fact that tourism can open up opportunities for the unemployed youth to generate employment through tourism even while maintaining that not much of an educational qualification is needed.
Khan is currently in Shillong to take part in the on-going 3-day 2nd Travel and Tourism Bazaar (TTB) which started here on Tuesday. The Travel and Tourism Bazaar is being organized by Fairs and Festivals, a Kolkata-based organization with support from the Central and Meghalaya Tourism Departments at All Saints Cathedral Hall.
“I will be writing to the Meghalaya Government on this issue and we look forward to their cooperation because, I feel, this will not only boost the tourism department but also uplift the economic standards of the state and its people”, she said.
This TTB which is being held for the second time in the state capital will be expanded to other north eastern states and the theme state for this year’s Travel and Tourism Bazaar is ‘Andhra Pradesh’.
“The aim of this TTB is not only to outbound tourism from Meghalaya but also outbound tourism of other states who participated in this bazaar. We should not only promote tourism in our own state but should also focus on other states (Interstate Tourism) as well”, she asserted. “Shillong is a very well known hill station and with time, there are better chances to further familiarize the Scotland of the East via tourism”, she added.
Meanwhile, delivering the inaugural address, Parliament Secretary of Tourism, government of Meghalaya, PW Khongjee said that Meghalaya has a high potential in promoting tourism and fewer infrastructures have never held back tourists from pouring in. Apart from the state tourism departments of Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and travel agents from Bhutan and New Zealand actively participated in the Travel and Tourism Bazaar.