Meghalaya has made it compulsory for tourists to hire authorized and recognised guides while trekking in the East Khasi Hills district for protection, the deputy commissioner and chairperson of the District Tourism Promotion Society said. The Meghalaya New Tourism decision comes after a businessman from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore killed by his wife for the duration of their honeymoon in Meghalaya.
The couple presumed missing initially. Before the woman surrendered to the police, reactions on social media alluded to the state as unsafe for tourists and tarnished its reputation.
Tourists Must Hire Guide under Meghalaya New Tourism Rule
The murder took place at a remote parking area, and the standpoint of Wei Sawdong Falls in East Khasi Hills, a district that sees the final tourist fall not only in Meghalaya but in the whole northeast.
When the incident, which later came to called the “honeymoon homicide case” to begin with, received traction in the information and social media, a few people with a big range of followers started assuming Meghalaya and the northeast is not safe to travel. The owner of a hotel in Cherrapunjee (Sohra) said that they regularly met travellers with questions consisting of whether it was secure to travel at night time or alone in a personal car.
Tourists cancelled their Bookings
After the case related to the Indore couple, Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam, a few even cancelled their bookings, and many more face anxiety. “Not much, but we give some cancellations right after the incident occurred. A lot of people worried about their safety and security, and asked us whether or not it is safe to head out of doors. We needed to reassure them that it’s secure to travel here after implement Meghalaya New Tourism rules,” the hotel owner said.
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