Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday emphasized the need for society to act responsibly in fostering tourism, highlighting that while safeguarding the identity, land, and people of Meghalaya remains paramount, tourism poses no threat to these aspects. Instead, it offers a vital pathway for the state’s economic growth.
Sangma called for a welcoming approach towards tourists, ensuring they feel at home, with adequate comfort, security, and safety. “This is the only way we will be able to make our state grow and create valuable opportunities,” he stated.
“Realising the sensitivity of tourism, society and the people must act responsibly. While we are here to protect our people, our identity, and our land, we need to understand that tourism will not affect any aspect of our identity. Instead, it is a sector that will drive economic growth for our state. Therefore, we must welcome tourists, make them feel at home, and provide comfort, security, and safety. That is the only way we can help our state grow and create opportunities,” the Chief Minister said.
He emphasized the need for a holistic approach to tourism, stating, “The tourism sector is not about individual events but about the ecosystem as a whole and therefore it is important that we as a society must realise, the importance of this. We as stakeholders must realise importance of this. We all have a role to play, we all have a responsibility to make the tourism sector grow. The tourism sector is a very sensitive sector, it is one of the easiest to be affected and one of the most difficult to construct or reconstruct back.”
The Chief Minister highlighted the potential of the sector, expressing hope that tourism investments would generate over one lakh jobs, both directly and indirectly. “For this vision to materialise, it is not the government alone but all stakeholders and society as a whole that must collaborate. Together, we can create a prosperous future for Meghalaya through tourism,” he added.