SHILLONG — Meghalaya’s tourism sector needs more careful handling of public statements and actions, former Tourism Minister and West Shillong MLA Paul Lyngdoh has said, warning that the industry is showing signs of decline.
Lyngdoh said feedback reaching him suggests tourism has slipped from the level it had reached during his tenure as Tourism Minister. He attributed the earlier progress not simply to promotion, but to sustained engagement with NGOs, organisations and other groups connected with the sector.
A major part of that approach, he said, was keeping communication open even when disagreements emerged. Lyngdoh referred to this as “diplomacy”, arguing that tourism requires a different approach because the sector depends heavily on how a destination is perceived.
He said social media has changed that equation. Statements and incidents can now spread far beyond their original audience within a short period, making the consequences of public actions harder to contain.
“For an industry which is as fragile as tourism, especially in the age of social media, it’s incumbent upon all actors, state and non-state, to be particular about their utterances and actions,” Lyngdoh said.
He said the concern applies not only to the government but also to NGOs, pressure groups and others raising issues or taking part in activism. Their actions, he argued, can affect how Meghalaya is viewed outside the state.
Lyngdoh also said methods of activism have to change with the times. The approach used during the 1990s, he said, cannot simply be carried into the present without considering how society and communication have changed.
“The kind of activism that we had engaged in the 90s will not work in the 21st century,” he said.
