By H H Mohrmen
Lonely Planet which is the most trustworthy travel guide in the world, had in its recent online updates called ‘Best in Asia, our pick of where to go in Asia in the next 12 months,’ selected 10 destinations which its writers picked as the must visit destinations in Asia. In spite of all the short comings, Meghalaya ranks 9th in the list of the most exciting destinations in the continent or the 10 must visit places in Asia. This indeed is a great achievement because the selection is being done by non-other than the best in the business – that is the Lonely Planet publication. Those who are involved in the tourism business and those who have been promoting Meghalaya as a tourist destination deserve a big round of applause.
Lonely Planet writers who have travelled the entire continent selected Hakaido in Japan, Shanghai in China, Jeonju in South Korea, Condao Island in Vietnam, Hongkong in China, Ipoh in Malaysia, Pemuteran in Indonesia, Trang Island in Thailand, Meghalaya in India, and Taitung in Taiwan in their list of must visit places this summer, but the question is whether Meghalaya is ready yet? Is the government in general and the tourism department in particular prepared for an influx of tourists to the state? This story (which is less than one month old) will perhaps help us understand the state of preparedness of the tourism department to welcome tourists here.
A visitor from Bangalore read my article about Behdieñkhlam which is available online and called me few months back to make an arrangement for her visit to witness the festival. She visited Sohra en-route to Jowai and while in Sohra she called me to enquire if there is any tourist information centre in Jowai that she would like to pay a visit to. She also said that she would like to get some information about the festival and asked if there are any handouts or brochures available on Behdieñkhlam. I was sorry and embarrassed that my response to both the queries was in the negative. And Behdieñkhlam is considered to be one of the major festivals of the state which attracts visitors from the across the country and outside.
The Government has done almost nothing except for providing routine traffic arrangements throughout the four days-three nights festival; there are no signages to indicate where the important part of the festival is going to be held and there is no signage to even provide directions to ‘ka Syiem Aitnar’ where the penultimate event happens. Add to that the fact that Jowai town has very few places to stay, so even if people would like to stay overnight their choice is limited.
The Shillong Times had very recently carried a story which says that the numbers of foreign tourists visiting the state has increased manifold. This should be music to the ears of our leaders and policy makers, but unfortunately the Government is doing precious little other than to blow its own trumpet that Meghalaya has the potential to attract tourists. But the moot question is – what has been done by the Government to promote tourism in the state? The few new destinations that now attracts tourists like Sohra, Mawphlang, Mattilang Park, Mawlynnong, Shnongpdeng and others were started by local people with their own initiatives. The Government came in later and now places like Mawlynnong even find mention in the Prime Minister’s regular broadcast to the nation – ‘Man ki baat’.
Our leaders especially those who are at the policy making level would know that the threat to the state is the growing young educated population in both the urban and rural areas to whom the government has failed to provide gainful employment. This population is growing exponentially and if the government remains complacent about addressing this problem, it will not only hurt the economy of the state, but it could also be a threat to peace and harmony. While there is a threat, there is also an opportunity that is opening up in the state which has been recognized not only by organizations like Lonely Planet but have also been proved by records that there are increasing footfalls of tourists coming here from other parts of the country and abroad.
It is the business of the state to do business, but we all know that the role of the government is to help improve the economy of the state and facilitate creation of livelihood opportunities for its people. Here the government can convert the threat to opportunity and by doing so help create employment opportunities in the tourism sector for this young educated population of the state.
The visitors are coming but do we have enough places for the tourists to stay? We have many hotels and guest houses in Shillong and there are an increasing numbers of Home-Stays and Bed and Breakfast facilities in the city, but there is great need of accommodations in the semi urban and rural areas of the state. Again Mawlynnong and Shnongpdeng are good models where villagers are setting up simple home-stay units to accommodate visitors. The occupancy rate is also quite high and in Shnongpdeng they even provide tents for those who wish to stay outdoors.
This same model can be replicated elsewhere where there are tourism potentials and even in places like Jowai too. The Deputy Commissioner WJH too has made this suggestion in the administration’s Whatsapp and Facebook page encouraging youths who can avail rooms to start home-stay units or B&B in town. To cater to this growing need for accommodation and at the same time create employment for educated unemployed youth, the government can make use of the infrastructure that is already available in place.
In the entire state different government departments have their own inspection bungalows, guest houses, circuit houses or places for officials to stay in. These facilities are rarely used because officials hardly stay overnight during their official tours. One would not be surprised if the numbers of these government guest houses or inspection bungalows will be more than hundred in the entire state. The idea is that government can let these facilities out to young people who are interested in doing the business on PPP mode and surely thousands of young people will gain employment if this mutually beneficial deal works out.
Accommodation is one aspect; there is need for transport too. Here again the government in collaboration with the banks can find out ways and means to finance young people who are interested in transporting tourists to and from the destinations. This will also create huge employment avenues for our young educated population.
Lonely Planet in its introduction of the state mentioned that if there were candidates for India’s Lost World, it would be Meghalaya. Lonely Planet’s online post clearly mentioned that the state is a destination for hiking and trekking, rock climbing, caving and rafting so clearly it is the state’s potential eco and adventure tourism which is what attracts visitors. It concluded by saying that after decades of not finding mention in the tourist map, people are starting to notice the potential of the region with rolling hills, rivers with crystal clear water and cascading waterfalls. Tribal cultures and unique living root-bridges are some other unique attractions of the region. In short, the state has what it take to attract visitors, but what prevent visitors from visiting Meghalaya?
When people ask me what will be the best time to visit Meghalaya, I would suggest autumn or spring when the weather is pleasant, but now I realize how wrong I was. All along, people who are in the business of promoting tourism are of the opinion that these two seasons are ideal for promoting tourism in Meghalaya and the rest of the year is off-season. But if Meghalaya is promoted as a destination for adventure tourism, summer when it is raining hard and water in the rivers rise and the environment is all green is the best time. Besides that, for people looking for adventure summer is the most challenging time to visit the state.
The world is at our door step but is the state of Meghalaya ready? Are we prepared to welcome visitors to our caves, our forests and our canyons and like the Lonely Planet post concluded, are we ready to welcome visitors to India’s adventure playground?