Former Tourism Minister and West Shillong MLA Paul Lyngdoh has said Meghalaya’s tourism sector is “sadly” showing signs of decline and has asked all stakeholders to weigh their words and actions more carefully in an age when social media can immediately damage the state’s image.
Feedback he has been receiving, Lyngdoh said, indicated that tourism had slipped from the level it had reached during his tenure as Tourism Minister. He attributed that earlier growth not only to promotion but also to sustained engagement with different groups and organisations.
During his term, he said, he had placed considerable emphasis on what he described as “diplomacy” — keeping dialogue open with NGOs and others over issues concerning the sector.
Disagreements were inevitable, he maintained, but there had been an effort to respect differing views and not shut the channels of communication. That approach, he said, mattered especially for tourism because the sector is sensitive to public perception.
The nature of communication has changed substantially with social media, he said, making it important for both government and non-government actors to consider the wider consequences of what they say and do.
“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.
An incident or a statement can now be amplified within hours and alter how Meghalaya is seen as a destination, he pointed out. Stakeholders raising issues or engaging in activism, he argued, must therefore keep those wider consequences in view.