Tourism in Meghalaya thrives, visitors throng hill destination
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Sohra: Tourist flow to Meghalaya continues with great enthusiasm as visitors explore the breathtaking views of hills and waterfalls. For tourists, the recent 'honeymoon horror' involving the death of Raja Raghuvanshi was the result of devilish minds fulfilling their vested interests, and it does not define the northeastern state or malign its image.
A day after the accused, Raja's wife Sonam along with her four accomplices, were brought to Shillong on Wednesday, TOI visited Sohra on Thursday and spotted hundreds of tourists from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
TOI met a 19-member tourist group from Lucknow, including four children, at the Duwan Sing Syiem viewpoint in Sohra who had come for a two-day trip to Meghalaya.
Two women of the group were found clicking pictures wearing traditional Khasi attire.
Sunita Akshay looked happy in a Khasi traditional attire, called 'Jainsem', at the Duwan Sing Syiem View Point at Mawkdok Dympep Valley. The valley is located on the way from Shillong to Cherrapunjee.
Admiring the natural beauty of the valley, she told TOI, "We have come all the way from Lucknow to explore the beauty of the state. We have heard about the recent Raja Raghuvanshi murder case here. But that does not mean tourists will stop coming."
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She added that a particular incident cannot define a state or malign its image. "They (the accused in the case) had devilish minds, hatched a conspiracy, and executed that to fulfil their vested interests.
That is a different chapter. For tourists, it does not matter," she added.
Her husband, Akshay, a businessman in Lucknow, said it was their first trip to Meghalaya and the 'heavenly natural beauty' of the state surprised them.
Sunil Kumar, who had come from Samastipur in Bihar with his family of seven, was asking his minor son if he would like to experience the zip line adventure when TOI met him. His wife was enjoying the natural beauty of the state. Kumar added that they had planned to visit Cherrapunji from the Duwan Singh Syiem viewpoint, and the group was likely to visit the Double Decker Bridge at Nongrat.
Regarding tourist safety, he said the Raja murder case was resolved with the arrest of the accused and it had been revealed that the case had no link to Meghalaya.
"It was their (Sonam) case and they just selected Meghalaya as a place to execute their plan. So, we feel very safe here. We have been in Meghalaya for the last two days and have experienced a peaceful environment and warm cooperation from the locals," he added.
Last year, Meghalaya was named India's top travel destination in Skyscanner's Travel Trends Report, outperforming global hotspots like Baku and Azerbaijan. Shillong was the only Indian city to make to the list. Meghalaya witnessed a year-on-year growth in tourist arrivals — from 10.24 lakh in 2022 to 14.22 lakh in 2023, a 38.9% increase, and further to 16.08 lakh in 2024, a 13.1% rise — reaffirming its rising appeal as a premier travel destination.
CM Conrad K Sangma-led govt will now invest Rs 4,000 crore to develop tourism infrastructure, including the construction of high-end accommodations in tourist spots like Sohra and Umiam over the next two years.
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