Turmoil keeps tourists at bay

SHILLONG: The tourism sector of Meghalaya which remains busy and thriving throughout December has taken a severe hit following the recent spell of violent protests and agitations in the capital city.
December is the time when it is hard for the tourists to find accommodations in Shillong but the situation is just the opposite this year though the law and order situation seems to have improved in the city following the protests.
A hotelier said that the damage has been already done and this time around, there are hardly any tourists in the city though December is a peak season for tourists in Shillong.
Usually a large number of tourists from West Bengal, Assam and several other states of the country head towards Shillong for the winter vacation and New Year bash but this time, there was only a thin presence of tourists in the city.
Another hotelier said ever since the agitations began in Shillong, most of the tourists who were here, left the state at the first opportunity they got and since then there has been hardly any flow of tourists.
“December is a peak month and now it is totally wasted,” the hotelier said while adding that soon after the situation became normal, some tourists from Assam arrived in Shillong.
A lady who runs a hotel in Police Bazar on condition of anonymity said that her hotel was totally empty before the Christmas but now at least half of her rooms have been filled with tourists.
She also hoped that with the New Year around the corner, many more tourists would be arriving in the city.
While the city few years back was receiving tourists mostly from West Bengal and Assam, the situation, however, has changed in the last 5-6 years as tourists from the entire country including Gujarat, Bengaluru, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi visited the city.
A registered tourist guide in the city also echoed similar views and admitted that the tourist flow has been hit in the city as many of her schedules have been cancelled.
“Many European guests who were supposed to visit Meghalaya have also cancelled their trip,” she said.
The shopkeepers in Sohra also lamented that the number of tourists has dwindled from what it used to be every year in December.
Many tourists used to visit Sohra but now the flow of tourists have definitely gone down, they said.
A taxi driver also admitted that earlier he used to get tourists for sightseeing trips to Sohra, Dawki and Shillong Peak but now only a few tourists are going there.
Another tourist taxi driver, however, is optimistic and said that the situation has definitely improved since the period when Shillong was under curfew for almost a week and now tourists have slowly but surely started coming.