COVID-19: Meghalaya’s Tourism Industry Hit Hard
It is no hidden fact, that Meghalaya depends on tourism for its vast economic growth, and in summers, Meghalaya becomes an easy den for tourists. Lush green valleys, sparkling water falls, cloud-kissing mountains and clear rivers are sites to behold and needless to say, they attract more than a thousand travelers every year.
Particularly from May to August because of summer vacations in schools and colleges in various states of the country, Shillong becomes hotspot of tourists. Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram are among the wettest places in the world; the heavy rainfall has created the region's key natural attractions – its plethora of waterfalls, caves and unique Living Root Bridges.
This is 2020 and the situation is different. The streets of Shillong are not bustling with the usual summer time traffic, hotels are empty and tourist sites are desolate with no new faces in site. It is the first time in so many years that Meghalaya has seen such a drop in footfall of tourists, as Meghalaya seemed to be buzzing with tourists throughout summer, every year irrespective of any kind of internal crisis.
Given the current situation arising around COVID-19, all tourist spots in Meghalaya are closed and tourists are advised not to make any travel plans to Meghalaya. For nearly six consecutive months lodges and hotels in these destinations wear a deserted look courtesy the pandemic.
The tourism sector of Meghalaya is badly affected amid COVID-19 pandemic. Tourists are not willing to visit Shillong city due to fear of COVID-19 outbreak. People dependent on tourism sector are experiencing economic loss due to decrease in number of tourists.
Lionel Nongkhlaw, president of the San Shnong Youth Welfare Organisation, which runs the management of Elephanta Falls in Upper Shillong, said there has been less footfalls in various tourist destinations of the state since last year due to various reasons –anti-CAA movement, demand for ILP and tribal-non-tribal clash.
"Coronavirous made footfall nil," he said adding that several measures had to be taken to ensure that families, who earn their bread and butter directly or indirectly associating themselves with tourism sector, do not die of starvation.
Echoing a similar view, an upcoming businessman, who runs homestay at Sohra (Cherrapunjee), rued that the situation has come at a time when the tourists used to visit Meghalaya particularly Shillong and Sohra to beat the summer heat. Those who are associated with this sector (tourism) are now having to bear the brunt of the pandemic, he said.
At Nongriat, the location of the famous Double Decker Living Root Bridge, domestic tourists have dwindled considerably. There are a few foreign tourists that stay a couple of days to do the difficult treks. At one time domestic tourists thronged the place. Petty shopkeepers report low sales in these tourist destinations. Many of them live from hand to mouth.
The Conrad Sangma-led government has formed a task force to study the challenges faced by tourism sector during coronavirus situation.
As a measure to boost the ailing industry, chief minister Sangma recently proposed to develop a 'Covid-19 resilient model' to sustain the tourism industry. "We need to start preparing for it and it also means to change the model, the way on how we look at tourism," he had said.
