Kongthong villagers taught how to improve tourism

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaApril 29, 2019

SHILLONG: With the aim of merging learning with experience and providing the students a platform to acquire knowledge through empirical evidence, the Department of Tourism and Travel Management, Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong comprising of 105 students and 7 faculties headed to Kongthong Village (the Village of Tunes and Whistles), Meghalaya, to organised a three-day community camp from 24^th to 26^th April 2019.

The village is located at a distance of about 60 km from the state capital, Shillong. The most unique feature of the village that attracts visitors and places it in the global map is the tradition which is carried on since time immemorial, whereby its inhabitants, rather than using a language and names, use sounds, tunes and whistles to call out to each other. Each individual of the village has his or her own unique tune attributed to him or her at birth and is beckoned using that tune. Because the village is located along steep hills the sounds of the people calling out to each other creates pleasing musical echoes that are probably never heard anywhere else in the world.

The students’ visit to the village has broadened their knowledge about community-based tourism as most of the tourism development initiative in the village is taken up by the community collectively. Tourism in Kongthong Village is promoted by the Indigenous Agro Tourism Cooperative Society mediated by Bah Rothel Khongsit, a resident of the village. During the camp, the students’ activities involved a study on various elements like the geography, culture, history, heritage, community ethics and livelihoods of the villagers in the area through group interactions. This was accompanied by cultural programmes where both the students and the people of the community performed. These cultural programmes were also attended by the people from the nearby villages like Mawlang, Mawsohmat and Khrang. The village representatives said that this community camp is the first big event that the community has ever witnessed in the village.

The villagers were made acquainted with the important concepts of tourism like Customer Service Skills and Sustainable Tourism Practices. There were also interactions and discussions with the community on ways to supplement their livelihood with tourism activities and develop tourism infrastructures like homestays and bed and breakfasts that can help support tourism and garner revenue.