SHILLONG: The inflow of tourists to the city has improved after days of unrest had hit the tourism sector hard.
Meghalaya tourism minister, Metbah Lyngdoh on Tuesday said tourism in the state was affected drastically during the unrest with a perceptible drop in the number of tourists.
“But now things have come back to normal and improving day by day,” Lyngdoh said
According to the minister, the occupancy in most of the hotels in the city has also improved.
When contacted, a reputed hotelier from the city also replied in the affirmative, saying her hotel was finally full of guests on Tuesday after a period of lull during the violence when many tourists had left the city.
The scene at Police Bazar on Tuesday reflected what the minister had claimed. Several tourists were on the streets, though the number was less than what it was before the unrest.
The week-long violence which rocked the city recently had adversely affected the tourism sector, particularly during the monsoon season when the flow of tourists to the city and the nearby spots is at its peak.
However, with normalcy returning, hoteliers, hawkers, cabbies, shopkeepers and tour operators are heaving a sigh of relief and hoping that the tourist inflow would pick up pace like before.
It may be mentioned that despite several bottlenecks, Meghalaya has been able to attract a large number of tourists in 2017.
According to the state tourism department, as many as 10,02907 tourists visited the state last year.
