Meghalaya tourism gets clean chit, travel agents breathe sigh of relief
The arrests of four people, including Sonam Raghuvanshi, suspected of murdering her husband Raja Raghuvanshi in Shillong, Meghalaya, have eased fears of travel safety. On Monday, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and state Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh also emphasised that travel to the state was now safe, writing on X, 'Within 7 days a major breakthrough has been achieved by the #meghalayapolice in the Raja murder case … 3 assailants who are from Madhya Pradesh have been arrested, female has surrendered and operation still on to catch 1 more assailant .. well done #meghalayapolice.'
Last month, Indore-based Raja and Sonam went missing four days into their honeymoon in the state. A week later, Raja was found brutally murdered while Sonam was missing, which sparked fear among tourists hoping to visit the state.
Travel agencies that initially faced partial cancellations over safety concerns are now hopeful that tourism will get back on track. Gaurav Chawla, marketing and sales head at Swan Tours, says, 'We have group tour packages to the Northeastern states. Due to this incident, 4 of 10 people dropped Meghalaya from their package.'
Sarvjeet Sankrit, founder of Delhi-based travel agency Ghum India Ghum, said traveller queries about safety have increased, but they've been assuring clients 'that the experience will be safe'.
With renewed safety assurances, Nishant Sharma from Noida-based JustWravel notes that the focus is on inclement weather.
'Right now, we have stopped bookings to Meghalaya because of the heavy monsoon in the region.' Travel blogger Deepanshu Soni adds: 'A traveller will do their research and speak to fellow travellers rather than cancel the trip.'
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