Number of tourists visiting Meghalaya on the rise

SHILLONG: Meghalaya despite having several bottlenecks has been able to attract large number of tourists whose numbers has soared to1002907 during 2017, according to the state’s tourism department.

The State is also giving a good fight to Himalayan state of Sikkim  which received  14.25 lakh  tourists last year.

As per the statistics of Meghalaya Tourism Department,  last year 990856 Domestic tourists visited Meghalaya while the number of foreign tourists was 12051

In 2016, the number of domestic tourists visiting Meghalaya  was 830887  while   the number of foreign tourists was 8476 and the total number of tourists visiting the state in the year  2016  was 839363

As per the statistics in the year  2000, the total number of tourists who visited the state was  mere 172256 and the state has definitely come a long way as far as becoming a tourists hub of the region.

Though the tourists flow in the state has increased rapidly owing to the fact that the state no longer witnesses any strikes and bandh,  tourists visiting the state still complain of many shortcomings.

A tourist from Delhi who was roaming in Wards Lake said that traffic congestion is a huge problem here and the excitement of visiting Shillong fades away just to reach the city centre from the outskirts as it takes a long time to visit the town due to traffic congestion.

She was referring to her experience of reaching Police Bazar from Mawioing which took her almost an hour due to high volume of traffic in the area.

Another tourist from Bengal said that the state till now had a long way to go as far as attracting high end tourists simply due to the lack of high end hotels, a fully functional airport and the absence of railways.

Another tourists laments unlike other states, here in Shillong   there are only two-three buses which takes passengers for sightseeing .

While one bus goes to Cherrapunjee, another bus  goes to different tourists spots near the city and there is no  similar initiatives for different tourists spots like DawkI, Mawlynnong and others.

“ Even these buses are basic standard buses and Government should have  luxurious buses with AC and  other facilities for high-end tourists,” the  tourist added.

Another tourist from Assam said that everything in Shillong was excellent be it the weather or the hospitality of the people but things here are very expensive right from the hotels to the food in restaurants

In the absence of government-owned buses, tourists mostly have to rely on local taxis and they are also overcharged on many occasion.

It may be mentioned that two high end hotels like the Mariott hotel and Crowbrough  Hotels are still marred by controversies and till date it is not known as to when these hotels will be made functional.

When asked about the efforts of the Tourism Department to further promote tourism in the state, it was informed that the State Government in the year 2012 notified Meghalaya Tourism Development and Investment Promotion Scheme 2012

Under the scheme, home stays are private houses providing accommodation to tourists with bed and breakfast. Provision of affordable accommodation to tourists in private houses with basic amenities would help in bridging the gap in the shortage of accommodation in the State during the tourist season.

Encourage public participation in the tourism sector, home stay accommodation are being given an incentive including assistance of 30% of the project cost limiting the project cost to a maximum of Rs 16 lakhs

GOVERNMENT OF MEGHALAYA

DIRECTORATE OF TOURISM

STATISTICAL DATA OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS IN MEGHALAYA