SHILLONG: The Federation of Shillong Hotels has expressed concern over the ongoing situation in the city resulting in a disastrous environment for the Tourism sector.
The secretary of the foundation, Arnold M. Lanong said Shillong has been building into a popular tourist destination in this part of the country for the past few years, however, the unfortunate turn of events has plunged this industry into darkness.
“The pelting of stones on tourist vehicles is the worst kind of treatment that could be meted out to our visitors and the fallout of which is that tourist vehicles from Assam have started to avoid coming to Shillong. The stone pelting was totally uncalled for. It is virtually unheard of in other parts of the world that tourists are harmed considering that the most disturbed cities of the world also do not have any such history of atrocities upon tourists,” he said in a statement.
The federation said the current situation has directly affected the road side vendors, tea and food stalls, tourist spots, local taxis, tourist cabs, home stays, guesthouses and hotels, impacting the economic condition of the state.
The federation also appealed to all sections of the society and especially those directly involved in the present standoff to understand the significance of the tourism industry and thereby adopt non-violent means in resolving the issues of contention.
Meanwhile, the ‘unrest’ in the city has led to tourists cancelling their bookings in some hotels and guest houses in Shillong.
“At least three bookings made prior to May 31 have been cancelled. In the previous years, we have had full occupancy during June which is not the case now,” said an employee of a guest house in Laban.The situation at Pinewood Hotel is not too different either.
“We have 40 rooms for guests here and some of them are yet to be occupied,” an employee of the hotel informed.
An established tour operator near the Meghalaya Secretariat said those who had checked in before the unrest have had to stay put in their hotel rooms. “Some who had booked earlier have been told to stay in Guwahati till normalcy returns but no fresh bookings have taken place since the flare-up,” he said.
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