Shillong, Oct 17: Amidst criticism of excessive spendings on festivals, the Meghalaya government on Thursday clarified that such expenditures are not wasteful but a strategic investment in the state’s rapidly growing tourism industry.

Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Thursday said the State government is investing a total of Rs 5 crore in the Cherry Blossom festival, which is scheduled to be held on November 15 and 16.

“The government of Nagaland (on the other hand) invests about Rs 10 crore in their Hornbill Festival, which is double the amount that we are investing but look at the tangible economic returns that come to the state. Just the GST itself which is 18% and is paid by the hospitality sector, the transport sector, it adds up to Rs 3.5 crore per day depending on the footfall that we expect,” he said.

The Cherry Blossom festival will feature renowned international artists like Akon, Boney M, Lucas, rappers as well as state artists, local performers and bands.

“I have come across certain remarks and observations that Meghalaya being a poor state. How does it spend so much on these festivals and activities? I would like to make this very clear lucid statement that in fact what people think is wasting or spending is actually investment in the tourism sector,” he said while adding “Tomorrow I am visiting Kynshi, which is under Mawthadraishan constituency, which by having huge tourism potential, is getting a road project of Rs 2 crore sanctioned. It means that tourism brings along with it certain developmental growth of the local areas including improvement of the road network.”

Lyngdoh said what most people missed is the fact that the state government is branding Meghalaya as a major and the ultimate tourist destination of the country.

“This is a fact that has been repeatedly acknowledged when we have events like the union tourism minister, the MoS and 18 other states had participated in the tourism conclave, which was held in Shillong a couple of months back. Now, when you talk about what are the tangible economic benefits that come to Meghalaya. For instance, let’s take just the case of the GST, which is 18%. GST of 18% is paid by everybody, who is involved in the hospitality industry. It is paid by those in the transport sector. It boosts the local economy and on any day that we have major footfalls of visitors to Meghalaya, the collection of GST goes up by roughly Rs 3.5 crore per day,” he said.

Further, the minister said the VAT is 30%, excise duty is 15% and on a single day and please bear in mind that these festivals are mainly focussed on the arrival of tourists – domestic and international – to take part in these festivals. He also added that for the first time ever, the government of Japan has come forward to partner with the government of Meghalaya in the Cherry Blossom festival, meaning that it is an opening for an exchange at various levels with the government of Japan.

“And we will also be having sumo wrestlers and various exponents of arts and music of Japan – that itself is a huge tangible dividend for Meghalaya. Then if you look at the footfalls, even a footfall of 15000, which is a conservative figure, if there are 15000 attendees from outside Meghalaya and they end up paying a room tariff of Rs 5000 per room that itself adds up to Rs 7.5 crore in a day,” he stated.

Stating that Meghalaya only stands to gain from such activities, Lyngdoh said, “So I would like to very clearly state here that we are knowledgeable of what we are doing, we know that the state stands to gain, we know that the local economy stands to gain. Everybody upto the kong selling kwai on a roadside stand to benefit when there is a huge footfall in these festivals. But it is not only festivals per say that we ultimately put our stress on. These festivals only help us in branding Meghalaya as a destination, which has lots of USPs, nature, culture, music, climate, cuisine being some of the USPs.”

“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 further claimed.

Read: Construction of Shillong Ropeway Project to begin in Nov 2024

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