Abode of Hope

It is good news that the Meghalaya Tourism Department will be experimenting with its innovative idea of contactless entry into tourists' spots in a bid to revive the Tourism industry in the State during the pandemic environment. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for phasewise reopening of tourists' destinations in the 'Abode of Clouds' for local tourists notified by the department has put emphasis on online booking and pre-booking for visiting the ticketed destinations. This will help in strict adherence of physical distancing norms in accordance with the carrying capacity to be notified by each destination. The SOP is detailed and covers a wide range of safety aspects to prevent the entry of any COVID-19 infected visitor or staff into these destinations. The Department is planning to come up with an App for online contactless booking which will help avoid visitors crowding for manual tickets at the counters. The proposal of fixed time slots for each booking can be expected to ensure staggard entry but will require strict monitoring by staff. The tourists' spots are still closed for visitors from outside the State due to the pandemic but the successful implementation of the SOP for local tourists will test the COVID-19 resilience of the tourism industry and prepare it for gradual opening for tourists from outside as well. This is the second SOP notified by the department. Earlier on June 26, the Tourism department notified a detailed SOP for opening of hotels. It has opened three favourite tourists' destinations – the Ward's Lake and the Elephant Falls in the state capital Shillong and Nehru Park at Barapani Umiam lake site on a trial basis. A wide publicity of the SOP will help build confidence among intending visitors and shape the perception among them that the protocols laid down are the new normal for tourism industry during pandemic. Tourism replaced coal as the major revenue earner for the state ever since ban on coal mining was imposed by the National Green Tribunal in 2014. Building resilience of the tourism industry against COVID-19 pandemic is also critical to protecting livelihoods of thousands of direct and indirect stakeholders in the industry in the hill state. Steps taken by Meghalaya Tourism department brings a lessons for tourism departments in other north-eastern States that achieving success in strict adherence of the new protocols of health and safety among the locals is critical to building confidence among outside visitors as well as preventing spread of COVID infection. Besides, the Tourism industry across the region cannot expect the industry to return to the pre-pandemic days so soon and therefore must adapt itself to new normal. Meghalaya's move has also put the spotlight on importance of local tourists in thriving the industry. Usually, domestic tourists from other States and foreign tourists overshadow the contribution of the local tourists to the tourism industry. Overlooking the role of local tourists of a State perhaps has made some experts to rush to the conclusion that it will be difficult to revive the Tourism industry in the north-eastern States in post-pandemic situation.

No doubt, the losses incurred due to lockdown and travel restrictions to tourism sites in the region are huge and has adversely affected all stakeholders in the tourism value chain in the north-eastern states. An estimated 60.27 lakh domestic tourists and 41 thousand tourists visited Assam. Disaggregating data of domestic tourists into local tourists of Assam and tourists from outside the State will help understand the real picture. This will help the Tourism Department in Assam or other north-eastern States also explore a move like Meghalaya of opening tourism sites for local tourists in stead of wating for pandemic situation to improve and tourists from other states to be able to visit. Digital media and evolution of social media bringing the opportunity of telling local stories to a global audience, the role of local tourists in promotion of destinations in their state, city, town, or village has amplified like never before. Amazing photographs, creative video documentaries, travelogue by local residents of places and local tourists uploaded on social media, published on blogs had led identification of new tourism spots, relooking at the same tourism spots with new perspectives. Meghalaya tourism department's move will help the local tourists feel their importance in thriving the tourism industry and they can be expected to showcase successful example of safe and sustainable tourism in pandemic situation. This will be possible only if the SOP is strictly followed. Much will depend on the role of the COVID-19 Management Team to be constituted for each destination. Meghalaya is anticipating that a section of about 20 million high-end Indian tourists who travel out to different tourists' destinations across the globe could be looking at destinations in the State in view of travel restrictions in various countries. Other north-eastern States can take a cue from Meghalaya.