SHILLONG: Asian Confluence, in collaboration with the Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT), recently organized an interactive workshop on ‘Initiating a Heritage Tourism Policy for Meghalaya’ at the Asian Confluence Center, Shillong.
The event brought together tourism stakeholders, researchers, policymakers, civil society representatives, and heritage practitioners to deliberate on developing a community-driven, sustainable heritage tourism framework for the state.
The programme began with welcome remarks from Raj Basu, Founder of ACT, who emphasized the importance of regenerative tourism and its connections with local culture, communities, and livelihoods. Insights on heritage tourism and sustainability were further shared by Anirban Dutta and Madhura Dutta.
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Presiding over the session was Patricia Mukhim, Padmashri awardee and Editor of The Shillong Times. Discussions focused on the need to preserve Meghalaya’s cultural heritage through responsible tourism, highlighting the importance of community-led initiatives, supportive policies, and collaboration among stakeholders for sustainable heritage conservation and livelihood generation.
The workshop saw active participation from 27 representatives of 18 organizations across Meghalaya, who contributed to the planning and deliberations.
Key outcomes included the decision to establish two Heritage Tourism Labs—one at Asian Confluence and another at Cherrapunji Holiday Resort—as pilot platforms to advance heritage tourism in the state.
Participants also agreed to form a Working Group on Heritage Tourism and convene regular meetings to take the initiative forward.
Asian Confluence reaffirmed its commitment to fostering dialogue and partnerships that promote sustainable development and preserve the region’s unique heritage.
(4FrontMedia news)
