‘State’s 40% population to be involved in tourism sector by 2028’
Shillong, Oct 18: Tourism minister Paul Lyngdoh on Thursday asserted that mega tourism festivals such as Cherry Blossom Festival are beneficial to the state exchequer and that around 40% of the state’s population are going to be directly involved in tourism sector by 2028.
Informing that the state government is investing ₹5 crore in Cherry Blossom Festival scheduled on November 15 and 16, the minister compared the figure with that of Government of Nagaland, which “invests around ₹10 crore in its Hornbill Festival”.
Explaining the return, he said the GST (18%) itself from hospitality and transport sectors adds up to ₹3.5 crore per day depending on footfall in the event.
International artistes, including Akon, Boney M and Lucas are among the key performers in this year’s Cherry Blossom festival. Sumo wrestlers and various exponents of art and music from Japan will also perform in the festival.
“I would like to reiterate that the government is on the right track and the way things are moving, we should be able to see that before 2028, not less than 40% of the total population of Meghalaya will be directly involved in the tourism industry,” he said.
Referring to allegations of wasteful expenditure on tourism festivals, he cited Kynshi in West Khasi Hills with a huge tourism potential is in the process of getting sanction for a road project worth ₹2 crore. “It means tourism brings along growth to the local areas,” he said.
Lyngdoh said most people tend to miss the fact that the state government is branding Meghalaya as a major and ultimate tourist destination of the country.
“On any day that we have major footfall of visitors to Meghalaya, collection of GST goes up by roughly ₹3.5 crore per day,” he said while explaining the economic benefit of tourism sector.
The government also earns through additional VAT (30%) and excise duty (15%) with the increase in number of visitors, especially during such festivals, he said.
Considering the income of hotels and resorts, he said, “Even a conservative number of 15,000 visitors from outside, they end up paying a room tariff of ₹5,000 per room that itself adds up to ₹7.5 crore in a day,” he stated.
Everybody up to the kong selling kwai on the roadside stands to benefit… these festivals only help us brand Meghalaya as a tourist destination, he said.
