The recent inter-state border tension has brought severe disaster to Meghalaya’s tourism sector. Due to the unstable situation created in Meghalaya and uncertainty of travel, about 80 to 90 percent of advance bookings in hotels and homestays in Shillong, Cherrapunji (Sohra) and other areas of the state have been cancelled, tourism-related businessmen said on Saturday.
The economic blockade created at Jorabat and the violent incident in Shillong on August 19 has created a sense of insecurity among tourists wanting to visit Meghalaya. According to the Federation of Shillong Hotels, there are about 1,400 hotels and homestays with a total of 15,000 rooms available in Shillong and Cherrapunji areas. According to the organization’s President Paramveer Singh Sehdave, although the number of tourists is normally low in the month of August, many bookings for the upcoming Puja and Christmas holidays have now already been cancelled. In view of tourists constantly enquiring over phone about the safety of visiting Meghalaya, they have been advised to postpone their travel until the situation improves.
Meanwhile, several tourism organizations including the Tour Operators’ Association of Meghalaya, Meghalaya Rural Tourism Forum have strongly reacted against the attack on out-of-state vehicles and tourist taxis during the protest rally in Shillong. Pointing out that more than 30 percent of Meghalaya’s population depends on tourism for their livelihood, the businessmen warned that such conflict-ridden incidents will tarnish Meghalaya’s reputation. The tourism organizations of the state have urged both state governments to find a permanent and speedy solution to this problem through dialogue, without taking any retaliatory action.
