Learning from Hornbill

The just-concluded Hornbill Festival, organized as an annual tourism mega-event by the Government of Nagaland at Kisama, a village on the outskirts of the capital city of Kohima, has brought to the fore several learning lessons for the entire Northeastern region. First and foremost, the ten-day Hornbill Festival has elevated the image and reputation of Nagaland in an unbelievable manner. Thanks to armed insurgency, Nagaland had for several decades carried a dangerously negative image, with the very mention of the word Nagaland sending shivers down the spine of people across the globe. But, with New Delhi taking positive steps to address the Naga issue and the state government taking every stakeholder into confidence, the 25-year-old festival has today emerged as the biggest tourist attraction of the entire region. It is true that Kamakhya, Kaziranga, Shillong-Cherra, and Tawang draw more tourists every year. But, in sharp contrast, the Hornbill Festival attracts a large number of tourists to Nagaland within a short period of time. As has been revealed by the Nagaland Tourism Department, the Hornbill Festival this year has recorded an impressive turnout with more than 1.73 lakh visitors in contrast to a little over 1.54 lakh tourists in 2023. Among them, there were 2,375 international visitors, which itself is a remarkable feat! Looking at the various outcomes of the Hornbill Festival, one must admit that it has become a major contributor to Nagaland’s tourism brand. Additionally, the festival has not only helped project the unique culture and tradition of the 18 tribal communities of Nagaland, including their traditional games, cuisine, art, music, dances, and rituals, but has also helped promote interaction among the different tribes. On the economic front, the Hornbill Festival has helped generate a huge income for the Nagaland government and the various stakeholders, including the common villagers, with an official estimate putting the overall economic activity generated at around Rs 131 crore. Additionally, the state government also invested about Rs 100 crore for infrastructure development, which in turn has created permanent assets for the state and its people. Considering the fact that a 15-day stay of a foreign tourist in India generates livelihood for one local person for six months, Nagaland in particular, and the Northeastern region in general, has immensely benefited from the festival. With an increasing number of political and cultural dignitaries of the country attending the Hornbill Festival, Nagaland is also gaining a lot through word of mouth, which these days gets multiplied through various social media platforms. The icing on the cake is that the Hornbill Festival has also hosted international partners, including the US, the UK, Japan, and Peru; this in turn brings a lot of international positive mileage to Nagaland.