Our Correspondent
Kisama | December 10
The ten day long festivities of the 18th Hornbill Festival 2017 ended today on a successful note, registering a record breaking turn out of visitors.
Miss Nagaland 2017, Marina Kiho, along with the runners up, Chief Minister TR Zeliang and Governor PB Acharya joined in on the lighting of bonfire, followed by a ‘unity dance’ of the various Naga tribes.
Speaking as the Chief Guest, Governor PB Acharya said the Hornbill Festival is designed in such a manner that it coincides with Statehood Day Celebration, which gives an opportunity to all the Naga tribes to converge at one location to showcase the best of their tribal costumes, songs and dances.
He thanked the Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues, particularly C Apok Jamir, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Eshak Konyak, Parliamentary Secretary for Art & Culture and their officers and staff for successful conduct of the Hornbill Festival, which has become an international event now. He also congratulated the Information & Public Relations Department for giving wide publicity of all events.
He said this year’s Hornbill Festival was attended by a galaxy of high dignitaries including the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, who inaugurated the festival on December 1.
People from different walks of life from across the world participated in this year’s Hornbill Festival which is a remarkable achievement for the Tourism Department, he said. As per reports, the number of tourists has increased manifold from previous years which is a positive sign thereby Nagaland has gained a notable position in the world tourism map, he added.
“Nagaland has the potential to become the most populous eco-tourism spot in the North East. We must take this advantageous position to address our unemployment problem. Tourism can be one of the biggest revenue earning departments,” he stated. He also congratulated the departments who had put up stalls and pavilions - like Horticulture, Floriculture etc and also organized various cultural events like Night Carnival, Handshake Concert at Raj Bhavan, International Music Festival at Dimapur, International Rock contest 2017, Craftscape 2017, different competitions like Fashion Show etc. He conveyed his warm greetings to all the people and wished a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.
Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, C Apok Jamir expressed hope that the ten-day celebration of the Hornbill festival provided an opportunity for the tourists to peep into the rich cultural heritage and tradition of Naga tribes. He appreciated the younger generation for taking the responsibilities in the celebration.
“This shows that the youths are prepared to take up the mantle of preserving our rich cultural heritage” he said. He urged the tourists and the Nagas to spread the message of peace and unity and to resolve to protect and preserve the fragile eco-system.
Chief Minister, TR Zeliang meanwhile said the festival has gained popularity despite the remoteness of the state and the lack of proper infrastructure. This has been possible due to our collective effort, he said, expressing his gratitude to the people for the efforts put in and making the festival a grand success.
CM still prefers 10 days of Hornbill
With regard to the much debated issue of reducing the hornbill festival to 7 days, he said that after seeing the response of the people, the tourists and the success of the festival, he prefers the festival to continue for ten days. The State Government shall take a call on the issue in due course of time, he added.
Expressing gratitude to the cultural troupes from other States including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh, Zeliang said their participation had contributed immensely towards cultural integration of the country besides, adding colour to the festival.
Hornbill Festival 2017 registers record turnout
DIMAPUR, DECEMBER 10 (MExN): The 2017 edition of the Hornbill Festival drew a record turnout of 2, 43, 214 visitors. This year’s total visitor count barely beat out the previous record of 2,43,113 visitors registered in 2015. This year, a total of 2401 foreign tourists, 38,700 domestic tourists and 2,02,113 local visitors from Nagaland visited the festival. The last day of the festival recorded the highest number of visitors this year, with a head count of 66,474. The data was released by the Statistical in Charge of the Tourism Department.
