SHILLONG, Sep 2: The resumption of tourism in Meghalaya after several months has made many dependent on visitors heave a sigh of relief.
Hoteliers, transporters and other stakeholders in tourism-related activities said they hope to lessen the suffering since the restrictions kicked in earlier this year.
Parambir Singh Sehdave, the president of the Federation of Shillong Hotels, said expectations are high as tour operators outside the state are sending queries. Online booking platforms have also been energised.
“The tourism industry has immensely suffered as a number of guesthouses had to shut down permanently and most hotels cut employees to 50 per cent and below,” he said.
“With tourists coming in, the hotels will have to reemploy because guests need to be provided amenities or services,” he added.
Echoing a similar view, hotelier Arnold Lanong said clients have started enquiring about room vacancies.
Hotelier and owner of Jiva Hospitality, Jiwat Vaswani, said some guests from Shillong and a few from Assam have already started flocking to his guesthouse.
He felt the tourist inflow will increase as many people from outside want to beat the heat and come to enjoy the weather in Shillong.
He said he retained his staff throughout the days of struggle and gave them 50 per cent of their salary when everything in the state was closed.
Faizan Ahmed, supervisor of Eden Hotel, also said he did not fire any employee but a few left on their own during the lockdown for personal reasons.
