Tourism in Meghalaya back on tracks after Shillong violence episode

By Our Reporter, TNT News | Shillong, Sept 16, 2018: 

Despite several bottlenecks in the law and order sector in the state in the past few months, Meghalaya has been able to rise above its differences and attract large number of tourists every year.

The Shillong violence which hit the state on May 31 and the next 4-5 days that followed has affected the tourism. But things are moving in the right direction and the state is hopeful of generating more revenue especially with the holiday season approaching.

In last five years the tourism sector witness rising graph with number of tourist soared to more than 10 lac during 2017, according to the state's tourism department.

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Meghalaya is also giving a good fight to Himalayan state of Sikkim which received 14.25 lakh tourists last year. As per the statistics of Meghalaya Tourism Department,  last year 9.90 lakh domestic tourists visited the "Abode of Clouds".

"Things is slowly coming back to normal after the law and order problem in Shillong city.  The number of tourists coming to the State this year would be more," Tourism Minister  Metbah Lyngdoh said.

The minister also informed with the inflow of tourists increasing every year, the government is contemplating of increasing the number of home stays both in the urban and the rural areas.

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Meanwhile, during interaction, tourists have expressed satisfaction over their choice of visiting the state. "We are impressed with the climate and weather condition of Shillong. The beauty of Cherrapunjee (Sohra) is incomparable," said a tourist from Bangladesh.

Mesmerized by the pleasant weather in the state, the tourists have expressed their willingness to recommend Meghalaya to others, who would like to travel and experience the beauty and serenity of nature.

With the festival of tourism – Paryatan Parv attaining significance in the entire country, Meghalaya too is part of the celebration as it engages itself in the festival acknowledging the beauty of nature and the bountiful gifts of Mother Earth.

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It may be mentioned that the Paryatan Parv began across the country today. This is the second edition of Paryatan Parv, organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with other Central Ministries, State Governments and Stakeholders.

Tourism Ministry has said that the previous events like Paryatan Parv has helped in the strong growth of Tourism sector and Country had witnessed 18 per cent growth of Domestic Tourist Visits in 2017.

Image Courtesy: Meghalaya Tourism FB Page

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