Manipur can be developed as a tourist haven. But the question remains are we mentally prepared to welcome the tourists coming to Manipur. They have to be given facilities to fulfil their appetite. What type of tourists do we want to welcome? Those coming for watching cultural programmes or others for playing polo or other sports of mutual interest. Our guessing is they will not come here for climbing hills and also for watching waterfalls. These hills and waterfalls can be developed, where local men can take the pleasure of being close to nature. Americans will not come to Manipur to see Loktak Lake. If they come it will be for a different purpose. Moreover we do not have anything presentable. Everything it appears is spoilt. Fields are dirty. Roads are in bad shape. Tourists cannot be forced to venture into the area, where there is nothing. Therefore what is required is showing hospitality if we want more foreigners to come to Manipur. Why not, they will love to taste Manipuri food. In Thailand they eat even snakes. Here in Manipur foreign tourists can be asked to taste Manipuri Iromba made with fermented fish. In the Far East they drink locally made wine. Korean wine and Manipuri wine are strikingly similar. Both are made from rice through the same distillation process. Forget star cadre hotels, very few of them can put up at such hotels. Many of these foreigners coming to India are truck drivers and almost all of them belong to the lower middle class. In the same manner senior citizens going to Vrindavan to have darshan of Lord Krishna with their monthly contribution these tourists too travel in group. The difference is that their currency commands more value against Indian rupee so they can indulge in spending spree after transforming their money into Indian currency. We have seen Londoners, who cannot buy a leather jacket in London buying three pieces at Delhi’s Connaught place. Here in India a jacket cost only Rs 3000 and back in London the cost price of the same item works out to Rs one lakh in Indian currency. They may resell the item back home to other fellow Londoners. A white woman asked me where from I bought the cotton jacket I was wearing, which was of inferior quality. She cannot be different from us because she preferred the Item we the poor people used to wear. Therefore it will be wrong to assume that all the foreigners coming to India and Manipur in particular belong to well to do family. They can put up at these hotels scattered here and there. But our habit of extending hospitality to the visitors must not change. Once these tourists had felt the pleasure of living without any hindrance they will ask others in their country to visit Manipur again. That is called creation of market. As the Government attempts to develop tourism as industry it should think of ushering in peace and tranquillity in the state. No tourist will think of venturing into the areas, which is not safe for travelling. Who talks of visiting Afghanistan these days? To attract more tourists the thrust should be given to strengthening law and order. The forces detrimental to the well being of the society should be controlled. Only then Manipur will become a heaven on earth for all including tourists to live peacefully.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/tourism-in-manipur/
