Government says festival gets ‘bigger and better’ every year; confident of attracting more tourists this year
[caption id="attachment_284914" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Pochury men perform a dance at Kisama in Kohima during the 2017 edition of Hornbill Festival. The state’s annual cultural extravaganza is set to begin on December 1 this year. (EM Images)[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Kohima, Nov. 28 (EMN): Governor of Nagaland and interlocutor for Naga peace talks, Ravindra Narayana Ravi, will be the chief host of the 20th Hornbill Festival, while Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio will be the host of the festival.
This was officially announced by H Khehovi Yepthomi, Advisor to Tourism, Art and Culture, during a press conference held at the directorate of Tourism in Kohima on Thursday.
Hornbill Festival, dubbed as the festival of festivals, is a yearly event that continues from December 1 to the 10th. Last year, high-ranking personalities from outside the state were invited to grace the inaugural function.
However, this year, the two heads of the state—the governor and the chief minister—will be the chief host and host respectively.
This time around, the department is expecting more tourists, considering the state government signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbnb, world’s largest community driven hospitality company, the advisor said.
‘Hornbill Festival is gaining in stature every year and has now become a unique platform, drawing lots of attraction from people across the globe. Every year, celebration gets bigger and better,’ he added.
The inaugural function of the festival will be held at the main arena, in Kisama at 4pm, after the celebration of Statehood Day in the morning. The side activities and events at Kisama as well as other places will be inaugurated on the same evening, Yepthomi said.
A total of 17 cultural troupes including 850 artistes will participate throughout the event. An elderly man from the Khiamniungan community will pronounce the traditional blessing this year. As was the case last year, the department is imposing restriction on single-use plastic and tobacco at Kisama.
The nodal agency of the event, Tourism department has charted out new price regulations for items in different categories. For stalls in Kisama, the department said that rate for permanent stalls has been fixed at INR 6,000 for 10 days, and INR 3,000 as ‘deposit’.
The deposit money can be refund after the event is over, provided stall owners ‘maintain cleanliness in their respective area’. The rate for temporary stalls is INR 4,000 per stall, and INR 2,000 as deposit.
The budget (usual) for the Hornbill festival is INR 5 crore. The department informed that the additional expenditure incurred last year stood at INR 2.98 crore. In 2018, the revenue generation was INR 45 crore. However, that includes revenue generation made by local entrepreneurs, it added.
For easy accessibility of information about Hornbill Festival, the chief minister is launching an app called ‘Nagaland Tourism Hornbill Edition’, on Friday.
