An Exploration of Tourism Development of Meghalaya, India: What is the way forward?

Abstract

Tourism is an important economic sector in Meghalaya, contributing 7% (approx) to the state GDP. An inquiry into the tourism development of a destination presents a valuable insight into the nature of progress and acts as a base for the way forward. Accordingly, the current study aims at exploring the tourism development of Meghalaya. It is qualitative in nature, with a focus on interviews conducted with knowledgeable personalities in the field of tourism for input. The study found that tourism development can be viewed in terms of the last 45 years with nature-based beauty as the ‘unique selling proposition’. The stages are classified into inception (1980s-1990s) whereby tourism initiated from Sohra, setting-up (2000-2014) and take-off (2015-2019). The way forward requires a focus on sustainable tourism development, conservation of natural resources, promotion of community-based tourism, infrastructure development and an emphasis on service quality. Here, the role of regulation is seen as critical with the active participation of the stakeholders.