Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh announced Tuesday that Meghalaya will soon introduce a “Tourism Buddy Scheme” to deploy trained local youth in popular tourist destinations across the state.
“We are shortly coming up with a scheme called Tourism Buddy for deployment of youths, who will be given short-duration training to handle matters of security, guiding visitors, and generally making their stay in Shillong and other parts of the state comfortable,” Lyngdoh stated.
The initiative will start with approximately 70 participants, with a Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) to be issued by the Directorate of Tourism within two to three days.
“We will begin with a batch of roughly 70-plus youths,” Lyngdoh explained. “We are calling the NIT in the next two-three days as we would like to see them being on the spot by the middle of November, as this is the peak of tourism season.”
Tourism Buddies will assist visitors by acting as guides, helpers, and interpreters and will be stationed in high-traffic areas such as Laitlum, Ward’s Lake, Mawsmai Cave, Arwah Cave, Nohkalikai, and Mawlynnong.
“They will act as guides, helpers, interpreters, and help people who might lose their way around—all those multifarious activities will happen,” Lyngdoh added.
Lyngdoh emphasized the program’s local focus, noting, “We are not outsourcing; the entire control will be with the state government, but we will handhold the stakeholders.”
The scheme will align with local societies and dorbars, supporting community-managed sites. Work is set to begin by mid-November, with final arrangements expected within two weeks.