Akangjungla
Tourism in Nagaland has always centred on the ‘Festival of Festivals’- the Hornbill Festival, a ten-day annual tourism promotional event organised by the State Government to showcase Nagaland’s rich and traditional cultural heritage. The glory and glamour of the mega ten-day event draws a small section of tourists from all over the world while the local populaces are the majority that throngs the Kisama Heritage Village which is located 12km from the state Capital, Kohima and has been “designed in the form of an ancient Naga village to give an authentic feel of a true Naga village and the experience of travelling back in time.” Huge resources are invested in order to recreate the authenticity of the Heritage Village and over the years continuous efforts and attempts have been made to disintegrate the spotlight from Kisama to the rest of the State, in other words to the original destinations where landscape, people, lifestyle and other features of tourist attractions need not be designed or mapped out by intent.
This year, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a United Nations specialised agency in the field of tourism has decided upon the theme ‘Rethinking Tourism’ to highlight the opportunity to rethink how we do tourism. “This means putting people and planet first and bringing everyone from governments and businesses to local communities together around a shared vision for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient sector,” UNWTO concept note explains.
Community and village existence are two striking features of an authentic Naga experience. Though roughly 75% of the population in Nagaland live in a rural area or in a village, the merit of identifying villages for taking up rural tourism projects by the Department of Tourism has predominantly popularized few places like Khonoma Green Village, Touphema Village, and Dzüleke etc. Rural tourism, adventure tourism and eco tourism are the others traits for a state like Nagaland. Right now, the State can claim to have a long list of tourist places to visit in Nagaland, but many will agree that the most accessible is the Dzükou valley.
The concept of connecting tourism as a sustainable industry only to limited occasions such as the Hornbill Festival is very limited and the recent approach through events such as the North East Festival, Bangkok to promote tourism in Nagaland backfired as it was considered a reflection of no proper plan or strategy of the Government. The common opinion was that ‘instead of taking only musicians and social media influencers, the Government should have taken policy makers, journalists, intellectuals, writers and cultural ambassadors.’
Despite the paramount effort, the Nagaland State government and the tourism department are failing to gain the confidence of the Naga people and perhaps, this World Tourism Day, would give us all the opportunity to ‘rethink’ and re-imagine tourism as one that is inclusive, responsible, genuine experience and also real representation of all Naga community.
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