The recent spate of violent incidents in Meghalaya, especially in the capital town Shillong-will have damaging consequences for the tourism sector of the state which is the mainstay of the economy.

An apex body of tour operators in Meghalaya- The Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) has said that the October 28 rally which turned violent in Shillong targeting innocent citizens -visuals of which has gone viral across the globe, will have the potential to damage the state's economy and hamper job creation and growth.

MTDF Chairman Larsing Sawyan said the violence perpetrated on October 28, was shared across the state, region and the country, sending a bad message.

"Meghalaya today stands at the threshold of huge economic growth that can be achieved primarily through tourism. Post-pandemic, people have developed an aversion towards overseas travel besides it is highly cumbersome nowadays to obtain visas for European countries.

"This presents a huge opportunity for Meghalaya tourism in the coming years. It is therefore important to acknowledge the importance of tourism as a game-changer for livelihood creation for the local people, particularly in the rural areas," the statement from MTDF read.

Domestic tourists from West Bengal who were regular visitors to the state, many of them after the incident of October 28 have already started a campaign to boycott Meghalaya for the violent incidents.

Tourist numbers hit a record high of 15 lakh or 1.5 million in Meghalaya last year, an official said.

Chief Secretary Donald P Wahlang said that Meghalaya has seen higher footfall than other states in the North East in 2021.

Meghalaya has seen tourism become a real mainstay of the economy in recent years but it experienced a severe downturn in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2016 Meghalaya recorded 8.3 lakh tourists, of which 8,400 were from abroad. In 2019, the year before the coronavirus struck, there was 12.71 lakh (53 per cent increase) tourists who visited the state, of which 25,800 (207 per cent) were foreigners.

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