Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 111 posts

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#81

Post by Dylan16807 »

angry_octet wrote: post #66
Dylan16807 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But it also highlights how you need to restrict access to move up the value chain. Hordes of bus tourists who eat elsewhere or bring take away contribute little economically, you can sell some trinkets. People with a hotel booking are also likely to eat locally. I don't think this fits the story at all. They just want a day off. The rest of the week is unrestricted.

That is a sensitive messaging campaign, and no doubt true as well. But the effect is that rich people who want to visit on the weekend will book a local hotel stay rather than day trip, and as a bonus they will not have to deal with crowds.

I think that's an edge case that would get removed if it had significant use.

Especially since the article gives me the impression you're still supposed to leave pretty quickly on those Sundays, that it's more like an easement than a day pass.

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#82

Post by thewhitetulip »

quadrifoliate wrote: post #76
thewhitetulip wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Visitors who book guesthouse rooms in Mawlynnong through Saturday and Sunday are exempt from the Sunday ban Did you read the article?

I did, a requirement to book a guesthouse room through the weekend does not make the moral/legal issues any better. Imagine that some town in the US did this; and shut down otherwise public roads to anyone who is not a resident or a guest of a hotel in the town for the weekend, citing visitor nuisance as the reason. Would you feel better about it because "well you can just book a hotel for the weekend"?

There is a difference between "trippers" and renters. Had your read the article you'd know that they are ok with people living in cottages on Sunday just not "trippers"

They want to reduce people who visit without staying. For Sunday is their day for mass etc

Also most businesses are still closed on the Sunday because the town is Christian

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#83

Post by thewhitetulip »

alephnerd wrote: post #79
quadrifoliate wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did, a requirement to book a guesthouse room through the weekend does not make the moral/legal issues any better. Imagine that some town in the US did this; and shut down otherwise public roads to anyone who is not a resident or a guest of a hotel in the town for the weekend, citing visitor nuisance as the reason. Would you feel better about it because "well you can just book a hotel for the weekend"?

Article 13 allows customary law to be applied following judicial review. It's the same precedent most Himachalis use to keep tourists contained to a handful of tourist traps while keeping the rest of the state clean. Other border states and Northeastern states do the same thing. Semi-urban areas like Mawlynnong are governed by Panchayats - not municipal councils - and overtourism can become a kiss of death.

Overtl tourism is a major issue in Bali, Japan and Bhutan as well. It's a global thing. I remember reading that Greece or some European country had banned cruise ship docking because they didn't want the crowd who runs around the city for half a day

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#84

Post by alephnerd »

thewhitetulip wrote: post #83
alephnerd wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Article 13 allows customary law to be applied following judicial review. It's the same precedent most Himachalis use to keep tourists contained to a handful of tourist traps while keeping the rest of the state clean. Other border states and Northeastern states do the same thing. Semi-urban areas like Mawlynnong are governed by Panchayats - not municipal councils - and overtourism can become a kiss of death.

Overtl tourism is a major issue in Bali, Japan and Bhutan as well. It's a global thing. I remember reading that Greece or some European country had banned cruise ship docking because they didn't want the crowd who runs around the city for half a day

My personal opinion is less about the crowding (though that is a pain) and moreso how overtourism creates a form of Dutch disease and prevents more inclusive economic from being created.

The state in India I mentioned (Himachal Pradesh) has a large tourism industry, but because of strict zoning laws was able to reduce the overall impact of tourism and zone SEZs and industrial parks which helped MSMEs climb up the value chain in industries such as generic pharma manufacturing and food processing.

If hotel and homestay zoning was lax, there would have been less of an incentive for local capital to invest in capex heavy but ultimately higher value economic output. And it was that economic output that helped HP subsidize it's welfare system that was able to bring the state's HDI to middle of the pack Chinese province levels despite not having a single metro with population greater than 200k.

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#85

Post by alephnerd »

rayiner wrote: post #3

> In a country known for its lack of sanitation, this is no small feat. But in Mawlynnong, children are taught to tidy up from a young age, with many taking to the streets each morning before school to sweep the town of dead leaves and empty rubbish bins. Villagers see to the disposal of biodegradables and take pride in public landscaping. Culture is real.

> Culture is real

Mawlynnong is barely 3,000 feet from Bangladesh, and the nearest town to it in Bangladesh (Jaflong - roughly 5 to 10 miles away) is much dirtier [0] despite also being inhabited by the same ethnic group (Khasi) as well.

The main difference is, Meghalaya has much stronger local government whereas it's much weaker in Sylhet.

Given that both Jaflong and Mawlynnong are inhabited by ethnic brethren of the same culture, the cultural argument clearly doesn't hold in comparison to the state capacity argument.

[0] - https://maps.app.goo.gl/knutXG7jePr4UhFm8

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#86

Post by hulitu »

foxglacier wrote: post #9
doublerabbit wrote: post #4

> Do not spit" signs > Some tourists have complained about the ban, saying it should have been implemented on a weekday instead These should not be a thing. What is it that makes folk feel so entitled? "Lack of litter bins"; isn't an excuse. I've seen folk stand next to a litter bin, light up and then throw the cigarettes end to the ground. You're literally standing next to a litter bin! It should be common sense not…

How do you reconcile you complaint about complaining about the tourist ban with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which says people have the right to freedom of movement within the borders of each state?

Ask the US Army. /s

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#87

Post by satvikpendem »

quadrifoliate wrote: post #78
satvikpendem wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Degrees doesn't mean someone was brought up with cleanliness as a value, that's not what they mean by "educated." It's education of taking care of your general area and environment, not general schooling.

> It's education of taking care of your general area and environment, not general schooling. I kind of know what you mean, but feel like we are going into No True Scotsman territory with the "well, that's not what education really means". Degrees and such are typically the yardstick by which education is measured; if attainment of this education as measured by those yardsticks does not correlate with cleanliness, the…

I think you just misunderstood the meaning of the word education in their comment, they clearly meant educating on cleanliness not in the literal K through university education system.

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#88

Post by quadrifoliate »

thewhitetulip wrote: post #82
quadrifoliate wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did, a requirement to book a guesthouse room through the weekend does not make the moral/legal issues any better. Imagine that some town in the US did this; and shut down otherwise public roads to anyone who is not a resident or a guest of a hotel in the town for the weekend, citing visitor nuisance as the reason. Would you feel better about it because "well you can just book a hotel for the weekend"?

There is a difference between "trippers" and renters. Had your read the article you'd know that they are ok with people living in cottages on Sunday just not "trippers" They want to reduce people who visit without staying. For Sunday is their day for mass etc Also most businesses are still closed on the Sunday because the town is Christian

> There is a difference between "trippers" and renters. Had your read the article you'd know that they are ok with people living in cottages on Sunday just not "trippers"

Again, none of this makes it right. It's medieval-style thinking to just put up a gate on Sundays to keep all the "trippers" out as you put it. What if every city and town in India started doing this?

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#89

Post by quadrifoliate »

alephnerd wrote: post #79
quadrifoliate wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did, a requirement to book a guesthouse room through the weekend does not make the moral/legal issues any better. Imagine that some town in the US did this; and shut down otherwise public roads to anyone who is not a resident or a guest of a hotel in the town for the weekend, citing visitor nuisance as the reason. Would you feel better about it because "well you can just book a hotel for the weekend"?

Article 13 allows customary law to be applied following judicial review. It's the same precedent most Himachalis use to keep tourists contained to a handful of tourist traps while keeping the rest of the state clean. Other border states and Northeastern states do the same thing. Semi-urban areas like Mawlynnong are governed by Panchayats - not municipal councils - and overtourism can become a kiss of death.

I doubt this has been given judicial review at the High Court/Supreme Court level.

As for Himachal, you seem to be the expert but I thought that Himachal disallows non-locals from buying land (which I also think is wrong), not staying anywhere? Or does Himachal also have laws like this?

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#90

Post by alephnerd »

quadrifoliate wrote: post #89
alephnerd wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Article 13 allows customary law to be applied following judicial review. It's the same precedent most Himachalis use to keep tourists contained to a handful of tourist traps while keeping the rest of the state clean. Other border states and Northeastern states do the same thing. Semi-urban areas like Mawlynnong are governed by Panchayats - not municipal councils - and overtourism can become a kiss of death.

I doubt this has been given judicial review at the High Court/Supreme Court level. As for Himachal, you seem to be the expert but I thought that Himachal disallows non-locals from buying land (which I also think is wrong), not staying anywhere? Or does Himachal also have laws like this?

> not staying anywhere? Or does Himachal also have laws like this?

Non-locals are allowed to stay anywhere in HP, but zoning is strictly enforced so you aren't going to find some hotel or B&B in the middle of nowhere without it being zoned as non-agricultural land.

This helps limit tourism to a handful of urban hubs, which helps limit overtourism to a handful of areas that have essentially been written off.

That said, significant swathes of Himachal fall within the Protexted Area Permit and outsiders need permission from the Home Ministry for extended stays, and often get stopped by police or ITBP for checkings (unsurprising given that we neighbor Tibet and plenty of communities have ethnic ties with residents of Ngari).

> I doubt this has been given judicial review at the High Court/Supreme Court level

Tribal Councils and Panchayats in Meghalaya are allowed to use customary law to limit outsiders, and this has been adjudicated by the Meghalaya HC as well.

Meghalaya also falls under the Sixth Schedule which was explicitly made to ensure that tribal areas aren't inundated by more numerous outside ethnic groups.

Post reply on HN