New Delhi: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma invited Tuesday the people of the country to visit Shillong and enjoy the India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2018 which will be started from November 14 to 17.
Launching the poster for the India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2018 here, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma and Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) director Prof Dinabandhu Sahoo expressed confidence that the festival is going to be a mega event this year. They also urged people from across the nation and the international community to visit Shillong and enjoy the festival and the beauty of Northeast.
Sahoo in his welcome address mentioned that the Cherry Blossom Festival generates huge employment and revenues for various cities and countries as lakhs of visitors from different parts of the world come to Japan, New Zealand and parts of Korea to witness the Cherry Blossom.
In Washington DC alone, festival typically brings more than 1.5 million visitors and brings in $400 million in revenue every year.
The India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2017, which was celebrated to mark the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development attracted more than one lakh visitors and boosted the local economy by 300%, he added.
Appreciating the initiative by IBSD, Sangma said this was another way to deepen and strengthen relations with the Japan government through the exposition of the Japanese cultural events and cuisine, as the Embassy of Japan in
India has come in as a strategic partner.
The festival will celebrate the unique mass flowering of autumn Himalayan Cherry Blossoms with several cultural events at Shillong.
Visitors can enjoy fashion shows, rock concerts, beauty pageant and even compete in an amateur Golf tournament. Alongside, there will be stalls showcasing the region's food, arts and crafts and several Japanese cultural events and a Japanese Food Pavilion in partnership with the Embassy of Japan in India.