Keeping in mind the potentiality of tourism in the State, Nagaland tourism department along with other tourism stakeholders organized a lecture on “The relevance of boutique/village hotel design for Nagaland” with renowned landscape designer from Bali Indonesia, Made Wiyaya at Regional Centre of Excellence for Music & Performing Arts (RCEMPA) Jotsoma on Thursday.
Speaking at the programme, Wijaya said that the topography of Bali and Nagaland has many similarities as far as the scope and potentialities of cultural tourism was concerned. He said that Bhutan’s model of tourism was also applicable in Nagaland based on its charm and hospitality prospect.
He described the Naga villages as very artistic and pleasant, especially the stone works, fortress, morung and other unique designs found in different villages.
Sharing his experiences at the Hornbill festival, Wijaya termed the festival as “very impressive, well organized and unique” from other festivals he had visited in different parts of the world.
Through PowerPoint presentation, he explained about the different landscapes, tropical gardens, tourist hotspots including some of his own designs in various countries.
Earlier, parliamentary secretary for tourism C. Apok Jamir, who chaired the programme, said the 16 years old Nagaland Hornbill Festival has been globally recognized. He opined that the lecture from the well-known landscape designer would be beneficial for Nagaland.
In the programme, additional director tourism K.T. Thomas delivered the welcome address, welcome song was presented by Tatti kro team, introduction of the speaker was done by Jesmina Zeliang while vote of thanks was proposed by president Nagaland Tourism Association (NTA) Vincent Belho.
The lecture programme was attended by local entrepreneurs, artistes, NGOs, members of tourism department and NTA, designers and others from Kohima and Dimapur.
It may be mentioned that Made Wijaya also known as “Galliano of Gardens” is a well known landscape designer and has been working in the hospitality industry as a design consultant for the last 40 years.
Over the years, he has designed 1000 gardens in 25 countries and designed many boutique hotels, both luxury and budget around the world.
He continues to be commissioned to design gardens around the world including the former palace gardens of the Nizam of Hyderabad in India and the Naples Botanic Garden in Florida. He often lectures on cultural tourism and the importance of cultural reference in design for the hospitality industry.
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