By Benjamin Lyngdoh
Tourism in Meghalaya has come to a stage where the talk must now be of vibrancy and not just tourist inflows, scenic beauty, nature, etc. Due to revenge/vengeance tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic, it is estimated that in the year 2023-24 there would be an inflow of 15 lakh tourists. This is around half of Meghalaya’s population and as such is no small feat. What this also means is that vibrancy must be driven by sustainability. But how do festivals fit in the mix of things. Are festivals required to further increase tourist inflows? Has Paul Lyngdoh, Tourism Minister of Government of Meghalaya simply used tourism as a means to justify the holding of a series of festivals? Has the desire for fan-fare defeated the inherent nature and true goal of tourism? A feel- good factor is alright, but better if based on a strong platform with potency for sustainable livelihoods.
The starting point of tourism vibrancy is aesthetics and ambience. In Meghalaya, all tourism marketing campaigns have focussed on this aspect as the unique selling proposition (USP). But, if really delved upon in detail it is found that tourism vibrancy entails many other factors. It concerns a quantitative understanding of the economic sector rather than mere pictures, videos, commentaries, etc. The tourist always has a set of expectations from a destination. If the expectations are met by the destination, it leads to tourism vibrancy. Otherwise, it is vice versa. To delve even deeper, tourism vibrancy (also referred to by some scholars as ‘tourism attractiveness’) underlines the interaction between tourism supply and tourism demand. The supply includes what a destination has to offer and demand is what the tourist expects and requires. For Meghalaya, supply is natural resources, scenic beauty, pleasant climatic conditions, culture and recreation, adventure and wellness, infrastructure, safety and security, etc. Demands are tourist arrivals (domestic and foreign), number of overnight stays, average stay duration, tourist spending, service quality requirements, etc.
Globally, it is seen that destinations that do well are those that apply the construct of vibrancy. They understand the significance of interaction between tourism supply and demand. Tourism in Meghalaya has given less importance to this aspect. There is no synergy and strategy for the long-term. How festivals will add to tourism vibrancy is not clear. Perhaps a discourse on the significance of festivals will shed more light.
It is better to take festivals for what they are – a coming together of people to celebrate a phenomenon. They are very specific. It achieves the objective and concludes. To claim that festivals add to tourist inflows is a misnomer. This is because the majority of the attendees are from amongst the local population. That is observed from the festivals of the past. It’s contribution towards income of entrepreneurs, service providers, etc is less due to the short duration of any festival. Businesses cannot be expected to thrive only in fits and starts. This is where the need to conduct a proper cost-benefit analysis is required. A substantial amount of money will be spent. Does it justify the ends? Further, what do artists, performers, event-based businesses, etc., really need? Yes, festivals give them visibility and marketability. However, the area that needs study is the possibility for a sustained intervention so as to enable them to survive and thrive in the long-run. This is to be combined with honing of their skills. It presents a need for a specific and specialised intervention similar to start-up schemes in the case of others. There are many artists and performers who do not have the capacity to produce albums despite having wonderful lyrics/songs. Their talents end up locally and the art-form can never be taken as a career. It is time to curtail on some of the festivals and instead invest the money in areas that matter.
Coming to the theoretical aspect, it is true that festivals/events are a part of tourism. But, its propensity to impact upon livelihoods is limited in terms of scale and time. It is on this basis that an argument is made for a limited focus on festivals. On the contrary, real and dedicated investment is required on the artists/performers. Meghalaya has to substitute the objective of attracting tourist with better service offerings, service quality, good infrastructure, improved connectivity, etc. 15 lakh tourists a year is more than enough for tourism to substantially contribute to the state GDP through proper planning. For this to be realised, money has to be invested in communities and rural areas by targeting and training of the stakeholders at the grassroots. This primarily entails enticing the tourist to have longer periods of stay through better services, more activities and benefits (wellness, health, rejuvenation, etc). Meghalaya tourism studies have shown that there are several lacunae in the offerings of the service providers across food, beverages, accommodation, transportation, trained personnel, etc. These are the loopholes that need attention for deriving maximum benefits from tourism.
These days the government is talking less in terms of high-end tourism. It is an established fact that festivals are not the medium to high-end returns. It will be good if the tourism priorities are set straight through a bottom-up approach to development.
Sustainability is the bedrock of tourism vibrancy and is mostly viewed from the environmental perspective. However, its scope is a lot more as it includes aspects of money (economy), culture, business returns, longevity of an enterprise, etc. For example, take economic sustainability. Festivals do not ensure a steady and balanced return for a business. For economic survival what is needed is a series of awareness and motivation to engage in business beyond a 2-3 day festival. This understanding has to percolate to the grassroots through a proper mechanism of the government, development agencies, educational institutions, etc. View tourism as ‘a source of bread and livelihood’ and not some source of stop-gap short-term windfall gain.
For example, take Shillong in the weekends. It is turning into a party hub packed by visitors. This trend is spreading to other parts with so-called resorts coming up in many places. There is a need to revisit the meanings of a resort. This is an outcome of people blindly jumping into tourism without assessing whether tourism is beneficial or not. Simply because some communities are engaged in it does not mean that others will adopt a copy-cat approach. Tourism is not a panacea. It is not a fit for all. This is one of the reasons as to why some communities cannot sustain after a much-hyped start to tourism activities. The fact is that tourism cannot be forced.
In the end, festivals do not add to tourism vibrancy. Again, festivals should be taken for what they are and nothing more – a means/medium to encourage and promote local arts and crafts. For long-term returns and sustainability, it is best to strategise investments into service offering quality. Will the Hon’ble Minister listen or shall it be as Ronan Keating sings, ‘you say it best when you say nothing at all’. (The writer teaches at NEHU; Email – [email protected])