By Chitra Ahanthem
Reading a recent news report about the Ministry of Tourism taking up the task of compiling the top 100 destinations in the country made me think what are the chances that any slots in that list would be occupied by places and locations in Manipur. Yes, there is no dearth of beautiful and scenic locations or places that are steeped in history or having significance to local myths in the state. But the list that is being complied is NOT only going to about destinations but ALSO list places to stay while heading to the places in question, recommendations for what to eat and where and how to reach. Manipur lags behind when it comes to support services that will attract tourists to the state. Apart from one hotel in the capital that is perpetually over booked and which may not really be in contention for tourists on a budget, the state is yet to have a value system in terms of accommodation and places to eat.
With the annual Sangai Tourism festival being planned for a 10 day spell, the first thing for the state tourism department is to asses who they mean by tourists. Every year, the tourism festival sees footfall from the locals apart from state invitees for running stalls. Talk about total irony: foreigners being invited to sell things to the locals when instead it should be about local attractions being showcases to foreigners and people coming from the rest of the country! Earlier renditions of this column have raised the matter of why a conglomeration of stalls that sell local products, which are brought by local people at hiked rates should be called a tourism festival. All because there are cultural events taking place in the background?
Manipur’s poor run with managing the potential of tourism that the state has to offer is partly because of the tendency to do things at an exterior level. The norm seems to be that if other states have annual tourism festivals, Manipur must follow suit and ignore every other thing. There is a need for a reality check in terms of just how many tourists are going to feel that they absolutely HAVE to be in Manipur. No amount of advertisements on the upcoming festival is going to translate into actual tourists and travelers rushing to the state till there is an information flow that gives tips on places to stay, where to go and what to eat and what activities that they can do. Apart from the traditional advertisements where everything about the state is glossed over, the real review and information flow on travel to the state in independent web sites are totally silent on Manipur indicating that people are yet to come to the state.
The other matter of irony is that in most state tourism festivals, the hospitality partners are government run accommodation outlets. In Manipur, the government run hotel is not even used by government officials coming in from the rest of the country and is often the last place to be checked in by visitors when all other options for stay are exhausted. I still remember a very vivid feedback from some friends whom I had recommended the place to stay in. They said a breakfast order would arrive near to lunch time and that hygiene was a matter of concern. For dinner the staff told them to eat outside! Another set of friends who wanted to stay at Sendra had to go back disappointed since the guest houses there were not refurbished. Not only that, no one knew who was to be approached for permissions for stay etc. They had to resort to laughing at their own high expectations from the place after seeing the state of the dingy and stinking loos at the Sendra tourist point.
The few tourists who do come to the state are mostly people who travel on account of work and then do a bit of sightseeing. Most sightseeing (apart from sights in Imphal like the Ima Keithel, Govindajee temple and Kangla) are often limited to seeing Loktak, Andro and sometimes Ukhrul town or Moreh. All other locations are not even considered. If the tourism department is really serious about promoting the state as a destination to tourists, there needs to be more than what is on offer. The issue is not just of starting hotels in every other place but to bring in the concept of home stays that will take away the pressure of where tourists can stay but also provide employment opportunities. Home stays are also a forum for showcasing local culture, history and food tastes and are very popular with tourists traveling on a budget.
Manipur has immense potential not only in terms of locations and activities like angling at Loktak, pottery at Andro with even a try at rice brewing (!) but also for adventure trails in the form of treks, rafting, para gliding etc. But one potential that has been ignored is the lack in showcasing Manipur’s historical context in terms of the freedom struggle with Indian National Army (INA) raising the Indian flag before independence and Manipur’s link to the Second World War. The INA war memorial at Moirang is in a sorry state with leaking roofs and rain water seeping on to the life size painting of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose that is kept in a dusty library. As for sites with historical linkages to the Second World War in the state, there is no attempt to either maintain these places or highlight them as tourist sites.
End-point:
But till the real tourists comes calling to the state, let’s get ready to shell out that extra bit of money and enjoy the tourism festival that lies in wait for us. Let us all get enthralled by the photos and the cultural dances on display. Let us all make a beeline for the food that will be in the food court and make it worthwhile for the organizers and people running the stalls. Let us play the tourist game and promote tourism. So what if we are locals? We will be tourists at the Sangai Festival!