SHILLONG, Aug 10: A two-day Symposium on ‘Community Based Tourism in North East India’ was organised by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research and Analysis, IIM Shillong, which concluded here on Thursday.
The symposium was inaugurated by Nagaland’s Minister of Tourism Temjen Imna Along in the presence of Gaigongdin Panmei, IRS, NEC, Atul Kulkarni, Board of Governor member of IIM Shillong, and Prof DP Goyal, Director of IIM Shillong.
Setting the tone of the symposium, the Centre Coordinator of the Dr. Kalam Centre, IIM Shillong, Dr Sanjeev K Ningombam, emphasised on refining the community-based tourism (CBT) scenario and the need for a CBT model in the Northeastern region.
Prof DP Goyal, in his inaugural address, suggested that government agencies and all tourism stakeholders should work in convergence.
For a seamless tourist experience, he said, the pain points should be removed and suitable strategies should be developed for promoting Destination North East. He highlighted that IIM Shillong, being an institution of National Importance, should have the responsibility of contributing to the region. There are 390 students who joined IIM Shillong who are among the best minds of the country, and the newly designed Community Immersion Programme for IIM Shillong students, where each student is required to visit and stay in rural communities, understand geographical and behavioral dynamics, can contribute by giving back to the communities in the form of sustainable ideas and business models.
Tourism is an integral part of communities and IIM Shillong students can contribute a lot in this field.
Further, Goyal mentioned that IIM Shillong, going forward, as surrounded by beautiful hills and scenic beauty, can be a prospective location for the tourists visiting Meghalaya.
Gaigongdin Panmei, IRS, NEC, on the other hand, stressed on the call for a common tourism policy. Maintaining that the need of the hour is to develop a matrix for circuits across all eight states of the North East India, Panmei highlighted that on the basis of the World Bank Group study and various other inputs and impressions available, five segments have been identified for special focus namely, Cultural tourism, Adventure tourism, Nature Tourism, Agro-Tourism, Health Tourism.
He mentioned that a common registration process for tourists traveling to Northeast should be initiated so that the traveller should feel comfortable in planning the travel. There is a need to sensitise the people at the village level about community-based tourism infrastructure, standardisation of certain food menus, improvement in presentation and packaging, and aggressive marketing of local cuisines among other important parameters.
Nagaland’s Tourism Minister Temjen Imna Along highlighted the importance of experiential tourism at the community level, as tourism cannot function in a standalone manner.
Experience through tourism should be the focus. The Northeastern region should give the experience to tourists from other states and other countries.
He mentioned that most of the destinations in the Northeastern region are yet to be explored. In order to experience seamless tourism, linkages should be made and multi-ethnic culture should be promoted. The inaugural session was followed by three technical sessions on Day-1, and the themes revolved around CBT tourism in the Northeastern region, the role of government in developing tourism ecosystems, idea exchanges, and best practices.
The second day of the symposium will have sessions on exploring business opportunities, developing CBT models, and dialogue on community concerns and participation. Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh will address the valedictory session.
