objective of the policy
definition & eligibility
definition
paying guest accommodation
role of the government
role of private sector
thrust areas
implementing agency
conclusion

Tourism development is as significant to Meghalaya, as it has been in the other more progressive States of India where it has grown into a promising industry. In this context, Tourism can, therefore, be considered to be the gateway to economic development of the State.

Meghalaya offers enormous potential for employment and economic growth by utilizing the natural attractions like landscapes, mountains and peaks, beaches, rivers, waterfalls, flora and fauna. It also applies to a multitude of man-made attractions like monuments, places and unique rural and city environment.

To overcome the over-growing unemployment, the Government has attached more importance in the tourism industry. Meghalaya has an edge over other tourist centres in the Northeast as it has unique blend of different cultures, congenial climatic conditions and better infrastructures for setting up of tourism related activities.

During the last twenty years, Government has made several attempts to develop Industries, encourage agricultural and other related activities in efforts to create employment. Unfortunately, the impact has not been as desired as there is no viable industrial base and even in the Tourism Sector; infrastructure so developed has been in an unorganised manner without any concise plan and sense of direction.

The Meghalaya Tourism Policy - 2001 has been formulated to attract more tourists from India and abroad and at the same time allow benefits to reach the grassroots of the populace thereby mitigating innumerable interlinked problems being faced presently.

OBJECTIVE OF THE POLICY :

In the context of the above, the overriding objectives of the Tourism Policy will be to :-

1. Create self sustainable jobs for the local youth of the State;
2. Generate substantial revenue for the State exchequer;
3. Project a friendly tourist image to the world at large and make the State one of the best tourist destinations of the country by capitalising on the State's natural assets; managing them properly and creating a consistent competitive advantage;
4. Promote local interests through strategic alliances with investors;
5. To be the number one Indian destination by per capital market share of visitor's expenditure;
6. Create a business climate which will attract outside investment;
7. Encourage domestic tourism (inter State) with a view to provide to the people of the country as well as the State especially those living in rural areas to understand geographical and cultural diversity of the State as well as the aspirations and viewpoints of others so as to bring about a greater national integration and cohesion.
8. Offer opportunities to the youth not only for employment but also for taking up activities of nation building character like sports, adventure and the like;
9. Bring socio-economic benefits to the community and the State terms or faster economic growth, larger employment opportunities, better income generation and foreign exchange earning, balanced development of backward areas and weaker sections, higher tax revenue to the State and cause sustainable human development.
10. Preserving and enriching our cultural heritage in all its manifestations and causing accretion and strength, rather than damage to our social and cultural values;
11. To create suitable environment for development of basic infrastructure facilities for tourism including Communication and transportation links.
12. To promote and protect the interest of the people of Meghalaya by making various incentives available for setting up of hotels, health resorts, amusement parks etc.
13. To encourage traditional artisans and the handicraft sector.
14. To include ail Circuit Houses and Dak Bungalows under different Meghalaya Government Departments within and outside the State for providing facilities to Tourists in co-ordination with the concerned departments.

DEFINITION & ELIGIBILITY

NEW UNIT : New units means a tourism unit, which commences execution/operation of the project on or after January 1997 with prior approval in writing from the Director of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya.

ELIGIBLE UNITS : Only projects approved by the Department of Tourism after 1997 would be eligible for incentives and concessions.

INCENTIVE : Incentives shall be available for new units as well as to the existing units undergoing expansion modernisation and diversification.

1.INVESTMENT SUBSIDY :

20% of the capital cost of investment on land, building, plant and machinery subject to a ceiling of Rs. 25.00 lakhs shall be provided for all tourism related activities including drawal of Water Supply.

20% on the cost of maintenance and upkeep of the equipment needed for the goifer, adventure tourism and water sports subject to a maximum of Rs. 5.00 lakhs per year shall be allowed for a period of 5 years.

3. PUBLICITY SUBSIDY :

10% of the cost incurred for publicity shall be eligible for subsidy upto ceiling of Rs. 2.00 lakhs per annum for a period of 5 years.

All new units shall be exempted from payment of sales tax wherever applicable for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial operation.

5.SUBSIDY ON POWER GENERATING SET/POWER :

Subsidy on captive power generation set including non-conventional energy generation set including drawal of line shall be 50% of the cost of the set subject to a ceiling of Rs. 5.00 lakhs. Subsidy on power shall be granted as per provisions laid down in the Meghalaya Industrial Policy 1997 on the subject.

6. SUBSIDY ON TELEPHONE CONNECTION :

Fifty percent subsidy on one time investment on telephone connections.

7.EXEMPTION FROM STAMP DUTY :

An exemption of 75% of the applicable stamp duty will be provided to assist entrepreneurs in executing deed(s) for financial assistance from Bank/Financial Institutions.

Subsidy will be provided at 100% for meeting the cost for preparation of feasibility/project report subject to a maximum of Rs. 25,000.00 provided that the report is of a Registered Reputed Agency approved by the Government. However, Project estimated for Rs. 1 crore and above shall be eligible for 1% of the total cost subject to a maximum ceiling of Rs. 1 lakh.

9.INTEREST SUBSIDY :

A subsidy on interest payments to bank/financial institutions will be provided at the rate of 4% on term loans (excluding working capital loans) availed by an entrepreneur for setting of approved Tourism Units subject to a maximum of Rs. 10,000.00 per month for a period of 5 (five) years from the date of disbursement of the loan.

This subsidy will be in the form of re-imbursement of actual repayment made.

Soft loans/subsidies for renovation of property which is 2/3rd of the capital cost with a maximum ceiling of rupees one lakh will be provided in Paying Guest Schemes. The Government will give necessary publicity through its various offices and ensure that commercial tariffs are not charged from the owners or such units for electricity/water use etc. The units shall not come under the purview of the local taxes such as sales tax, luxury tax etc; since the units are required to provide the facility of only bed and breakfast.

All new units shall be entitled for exemption from luxury tax for a period of 5 (five) years from the date of commencing operation.

DEFINITION

Tourism units are commercial establishments providing public facilities/services to the tourist and will include the following :-

1. Accommodation units including hotels and restaurants, wayside facilities, apartments, hotels, and other facilities like telephones, toilets, parking area etc.
2. Tourist resorts.
3. Amusement parks and adventure sports etc.
4. Paying Guest Accommodations.

(A Hotel :

Hotel means a boarding and lodging unit providing adequate finished beds in double and single rooms attached with sanitary fitted toilets and bathrooms, with suitable dining, reception and public area, vehicular parking area etc.

(B) Tourist Resorts :

A Tourist Resort will be defined as thrust unit which has at least any three of the following activities/facilities :

1. Accommodation of at least 10 (ten) rooms with attached bath/toilets in urban areas and 5 (five) in the rural areas.
2. Full-fledged Restaurant with modern kitchen and geared to provide room service etc;
3. Health Club facilities e.g. Sauna Bath, Jacuzzi, Steam Bath, Gymnasium etc.
4. Water Sports e.g. white water rafting, canoeing, kayaking.
5. Beauty parlour including Barber Shops and massage facilities.
6. Children's corners including Grocho, park, Indoor Games and other recreational facilities.
7. Landscaped Gardens and Orchards.
8. Jogging tracks/nature trails.
9. Convention/Conference facilities.
10. Shopping Arcade.
11. Well-stocked Library including Video Library.
12. Auditorium.
13. Nature care facilities e.g. Yoga, Ayurvedic/Herbal Care.
14. Open Air Recreation.

(C)Amusement Parks :

It may be defined as an open area development for recreational facilities for people of all ages. It should contain various kinds of fun/joy rides, magic shows, toilets, telecommunication, first aid, adequate parking, etc. It should also contain restaurants with attached bath and toilet facilities.

PAYING GUEST ACCOMMODATION :

The Scheme will be introduced to provide affordable and hygienic accommodation for the domestic and international tourists at important tourist centres in the State helping in supplementing the existing accommodation. The concept offers visiting tourists an opportunity to stay with a local family, experience the local way of life, discovers its rich culture and cuisine. The scheme envisages accommodation located in suitable localities with easy accessibility from the transport station/airport which in turn will involve the local people and generate employment. The rooms will be of suitable sizes with attached bathrooms with a good standard of hygiene on bed and breakfast basis. The Scheme is voluntary with units to be registered with complete details with the State Tourism Department and shall include Co-operative Group Housing Society.

ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT :

Tourism is a multi-sector activity and the industry is influenced by many other sectors of the country economy. The Government efforts will therefore, be directed at ensuring inter-governmental linkage and effective co-ordination. Government has to play a pivotal role in tourism management and promotion. There are several areas in which Government has to play a key role. These are :-

1. Providing public infrastructure facility including local planning.
2. Planning tourism development as a part of the other overall area development strategy.
3. Creating nucleus infrastructure in the initial stage of development to demonstrate the potential of the area.
4. Providing support facilities and facilitation services to private enterprises along with appropriate incentives.
5. Introducing regulatory measures to ensure social, cultural and environmental sustainability.
6. Ensuring that the type and scale of tourism development is compatible with the environment and socio-cultural milieu of the area.
7. Ensuring that the local community is fully involved and the benefits of tourism accrue to them.
8. Facilitating availability of trained manpower and providing training and exposure particularly from amongst the local population jointly with the industry department.
9. Undertaking research including folklore legends etc and compiling, preparing master plans, and facilitating formulation of marketing strategies.
10. Providing efficient transport and communication services.
11. Providing clean and adequate basic amenities like drinking water, toilet facilities, wayside refreshment centres, healthcare centres etc.
12. Providing aggressive publicity through all the Metropolitan cities as well as abroad and setting up of Tourist Information Centres.
13. Inter-Departmental Co-ordination.

Inter-Departmental Co-ordination will be established among the tourism related agencies/departments like Tourism, Forest, Arts & Culture etc. to work united for maintenance, conservation, development and marketing of attractive tourism products. This will be achieved through a Committee known as Tourism Advisory-cum-Co-ordination Committee comprising of :-

To sum up the State Government will confine it efforts to infrastructural development, dissemination of information and co-ordination of sectoral activities to create conditions for attracting substantial private sector investment in the tourism sector. It is not the job of State Agencies to run hotels and Tourist Buses and gradually the state will withdraw its activities from such operations and hand them over to the professionals in the tourism industry. The State will also provide fiscal incentives, assist in providing suitable sites and remove bottlenecks, especially those connected with infrastructural development. The State accords high priority to manpower development and protection of the interests of the tourists. It will set up or assist in setting up training institutions and suitable systems for ensuring quality control in tourism services. It will encourage more active participation of voluntary groups and the associations of hoteliers, the travel trade and tour operators in ensuring that the tourists are provided a fair deal. The State will ensure that its natural and cultural resources will be enhanced with the help of tourism activities and nothing that disturbs the ecological balance will be permitted.

ROLE OF PRIVATE SECTOR :

The private sector has always been playing a bigger role in the field of tourism. The Government Policy will, therefore, aim to encourage the private sectors in the following areas :-

1. Building and managing the required tourist facilities in alt places of tourist interest.
2. Assuring collective responsibility for laying down industry standards, ethics and fair practices.
3. Involving the local community in tourism projects and ensuring that the benefits of tourism accrue to them in right measure.
4. Undertaking industry training and manpower development for achieving excellence in quality of services.
5. Participating in the preparation of investment guidelines and marketing strategies and assisting in database creation and research.
6. Facilitating safety and security of tourists.
7. Ensuring preservation and protection of tourist attractions.
8. Endeavoring to promote tourism on a sustained and long-term perspective.

Based upon the opportunities available in the State, the following forms of tourism have been identified :-

(a) Nature Tourism (Flora & Fauna) - There is tremendous scope for development of tourism based on wildlife in the State particularly in Balpakram, Nokrek Biosphere reserve, Nongkhyllem and Nongdaju areas in West Khasi Hills, National parks and Game sanctuaries should be developed in coordination with the Forest Department and requisite facilities should be developed at or near such areas.

(b) Adventure Tourism- Comprising of trekking, caving, watersports, hang gliding bungee-jumping, mountain trekking, climbing etc and abseiling activities. This type of tourism should be promoted in close coordination with recognized adventure associations.

(c) Cultural and Socio-cultural Tourism (Fairs and Festivals) - Cultural Centres are proposed to be developed in the major districts of East Khasi Hills, West Garo Hills and Jaintia Hills. Promotion of major fairs and festivals will be effected in both domestic and international markets.

(d) Health resort Tourism - The State as a whole is acquiring a reputation for alternative medicine and also for producing natural healer. Efforts will therefore be made to promote this type of tourism through the development of healthcare infrastructure.

(e) Golf Tourism - Meghalaya and Shillong in particular have tremendous potential for development of several golf courses. The temperate climate also is a comparative advantage for promoting this form of tourism.

(f) Conferencing and Convention Tourism - The salubrius climate and beautiful natural setting are a comparative advantage, which could make Shillong in particular an important convention centre.

(g) Sports Tourism - Once the studies are completed, Shillong, Jowai and Tura can become venues for one day international cricket tournaments and other sports such as badminton, tennis and so on. The temperate climate makes the State attractive for such events.

(h) Casino Tourism - This form of tourism is vital to overcome the constraints facing tourism development in the State, as it will have wide appeal especially in Muslim dominated countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. However, an international airport at Umroi is a prerequisite if this project is to succeed.

(i) Travel/Transportation and Communications - To reach the tourist destinations, considerate upgradation of State and National Highways and roads leading to the places of tourist interest are needed. The Government will actively pursue and facilitate developing of the existing airports in co-operation with the National Airport Authority. It is hoped that the current policy of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism encouraging charter flights will continue so that such destinations can be serviced regularly in the near future in Meghalaya.

The Government will encourage Transport services for tourism purposes and also cruises without any restriction on fares or any monopoly rights. It will take up the development of selected jetties and river ports for the smooth operation of boat services. Entrepreneurs in the private sector would also be encouraged to provide such facilities.

The passenger tax will be restructured to encourage larger tourist movement. The Government will continue to provide interstate transport permits and such other facilities as may be necessary.

(j) Arts & Crafts promotion Tourism - The Tourism Department in association with the Art and Culture Department and other State agencies will hold annual festivals and exhibitions for promoting specific destinations. Visitors' Reception Centres will be set up at five or six places in the State to provide recreation as well as to encourage local cuisine and village arts & crafts. The funds for these purpose will be provided by the State Government.

IMPLEMENTING AGENCY :

1. The Directorate of Tourism will register all tourism and tourism related units.
2. The Directorate of Tourism preferably the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. will create and provide the tourism related infrastructure and prioritize as far as possible.
3. The Directorate of Tourism in collaboration with Director of Industries, Commercial Banks/Financial Institutions will scrutinize sanction and disburse subsidies to tourism units.
4. The Department of Tourism shall work out the criteria for accredition of certain Categories of Hotels/Restaurants within the State of Meghalaya.

CONCLUSION

The State has a long way to go before it can complete with tourism facilities of nationally and internationally popular destinations like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Goa. The entire State, in a way can be called backward in terms of tourism facilities of national and international standards and the provision of modern tourism facilities prevailing in other States and countries especially South East Asia. The State Government will have to co-ordinate the efforts of other concerned Departments and concentrate in infrastructural development in selected areas as well as provide special incentives to the private sector to set up tourism facilities of international standards. More than the Tourism Department, the other State Agencies which provide basic amenities like electricity, water supply, roads etc. will have to play a significant role in bringing about faster development of tourism. As outlined in the policy for tourism development, a major role is to be played by the hoteliers, tour operators, travel agencies and others who provide services in the Tourism Sector, The role of the State in providing infrastructure and co-ordinating development efforts will be performed through a small and compact administrative set up as already incorporated. The State Government is hopeful that the tourism industry, investors, tourists and the general public will respond whole-heartedly to the approach and policy of tourism development in the State and help in bringing about integrated and healthy tourism development.