By Benjamin Lyngdoh
The year 2020 was a global disaster for tourism. For Meghalaya, the Covid-19 pandemic happened at a time when the tourism season was about to commence. In general, all the economic sectors of Meghalaya were adversely impacted; however, tourism was the most affected primarily because the restrictions on tourism activities were the last to be lifted. The other economic activities were gradually opened from September, 2020 whereas tourism was allowed only from February, 2021. This basically means that tourism in Meghalaya was at a standstill for a period of 10 months (April, 2020 to January, 2021) altogether. This equates to 10 months of hardship and turmoil for the tourism stakeholders, particularly the ones at the grassroots like micro and small tourism services providers such as cafes, souvenir outlets, home-stays and bed and breakfast accommodations, etc. Accordingly, this column is aimed at highlighting some of the tourism hardships arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic by focussing on two popular tourist destinations in Meghalaya, namely Sohra (also known as Cherrapunji) and Shnongpdeng. The lines penned in this column are an outcome of recent interactions and observations conducted in these destinations.
At the outset, it is to be noted that this is not a comparison between Sohra and Shnongpdeng. In any case and in keeping with the ‘nature of attractions/activities offered’, these two destinations are incomparable and any attempts to do so will be like comparing apples to oranges. The end result is that the understanding will be disoriented. This is because Sohra is a tourism circuit starting from Dympep-Mawkdok Duwan Sing Syiem Bridge (also known as Mawkdok Bridge) and stretching till towards Laitkynsew village. The attractions on offer are primarily nature-based scenic views in addition to caving and trekking (particularly at Nongriat village), etc. On the other hand, Shnongpdeng is a community-based tourism adventure destination along the river Umngot in West Jaintia Hills District with a number of tourism activities on offer such as kayaking, boating, cliff jumping, snorkelling, zip lining, scuba diving, trekking, etc. In terms of scale, Sohra is bigger than Shnongpdeng. Nonetheless, the Covid-19 pandemic did impact the tourism of both these places. As tourism is predominantly an economic sector, the consequences were primarily economic in nature but, also included social and environmental problems. Moreover, the mental stress and anxiety amongst the tourism stakeholders was widely prevalent and explicitly observable in many. A single Coronavirus did turn their worlds upside down!
In economic terms, the numbers were damaging. During the lockdown/restrictions period the revenue flows was zero/negligible. For example, in the tourist hub of Dympep-Mawkdok which primarily comprises of cafes and souvenir shops the pre-lockdown peak tourism figures used to be a profit of Rs. 30000- to 35000 per month and sales of Rs. 5000 – 8000 per day respectively. The pandemic brought it down to zero and in recent days the revenue flows are just starting to pick up again. There was a similar situation in Krem Pubon (also known as Mawsmai Cave). During the pre-lockdown peak tourism periods it receives footfalls ranging from 2500 to 3000 tourists a day. The food outlets around it do brisk business and the souvenir shops on location manage sales of Rs. 20000 – 25000/- per day. Here too tourism is struggling to pick up still. At Shnongpdeng, the adverse impacts were similar. During the pre-lockdown peak tourism periods, Shnongpdeng receives a footfall of around 300 tourists and the food outlets do brisk sales of around Rs. 20000 a day. The adventure tourism activities were all in high demand and revenue flows were brisk. Being a small village of around 130 households, these revenue flows are hugely significant in terms of development. In addition, since camping is one of the main attractions for the tourists; home-stays are less in number amounting to only around 10. However, the pandemic did bring all these numbers to naught. At present, the destination has opened up again along with an effort towards following the necessary Covid-19 protocols.
Against the above backdrop, the tourism service providers in these two destinations were having a very difficult and uncertain time during the lockdown/restrictions period. Most of them depend on tourism entirely for their livelihoods. Hence, it goes without saying that they had a horrid time. In Sohra, a lady who runs a small binocular and tea joint at the seven sisters falls viewpoint sadly stated, ‘lah ia long kum ba biej phi, ym sngew nang leh ei ei ruh da kumwei pat’ (we feel so helpless and lost, we do not know a trade other than tourism). In Shnongpdeng, similar difficulties resounded albeit with a difference. A youth who runs adventure activities quipped ‘baroh ngi ia shem jingeh, hynrei namar ba don ka wah Umngot, ngi ia pynleit sngi da kaba khwai dohkha’ (all of us faced difficulties, but thanks to the river Umngot, we got involved in fishing for food). This was also practiced in nearby villages like Darrang which is only 1.6 kilometers away from Shnongpdeng.
Be that as it may, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus one very important point; that being the need for tourism enterprises to diversify and learn to prepare for difficult and uncertain times like the pandemic of last year and ILP-linked agitations.
To this end, the challenges faced by the tourism service providers are more serious than the ones faced by the tourists. For the tourist, ‘travel insurance’ is available so as to mitigate the losses in relation to cancellations, baggage lost, etc. In fact, travel insurance has now become one of the hot topics of discussion amongst the tourists. For the service providers, Covid-19 has thrown open a vacuum that needs to be filled. The stakeholders who depend on tourism need to be given awareness and training on preparing for difficult times. After all, tourism is a highly sensitive sector and the inflow of tourists can stop at the drop of a hat. As such, the NGOs and people involved in tourism including the Tourism Department of the state government needs to play a vital educational role. The point here is that the awareness focus must not be in terms of a bail-out from the government; rather, capacity building so as to empower the stakeholders to mitigate such challenges.
In the end, over-tourism including waste and sewage management is an issue for both destinations. This is more so in the case of Shnongpdeng as the tourists primarily stay in tents. This also involves the health of the Umngot River. As such, it is high time that the state government devises strict and punitive guidelines on waste and sewage management. After all, there are many other destinations in Meghalaya that are lackin on this front.
([email protected]; The Author teaches at NEHU)