After it was conceptualized as a one-day mega festival of all Naga festivals in 2000, the Hornbill Festival today, has undergone an endearing change, reflecting the need to entertain and enlighten domestic and foreign visitors and at the same time, promote tourism.
One crucial aspect of the annual event is that there is no lack of ideas within the government and talents among the people, mostly youth to put up an excellent show every year.
In order to sustain the evolution of the Hornbill Festival, there have been numerous suggestions made in Nagaland Post since 2000 and still continuing. It was suggested to the government, that some of the events such as cultural items, food fest and handicrafts etc. be held at the Agro Expo at Dimapur. Besides catering to more domestic tourists from nearby states, who can travel by road or train or even flight from Guwahati or Imphal, Dimapur also has a sizeable population of other non-Naga communities.
Sometime in 2001 It was also mentioned that in order to make Nagaland as an all-year round festival-destination, there was urgent need for improving road condition, creating tourism infrastructures at districts having tourist attractions etc.
Air connectivity to and from Dimapur should also be scheduled to facilitate easy travel of air passengers from home and abroad. Expansion and modernization of Dimapur Airport has been long overdue.
Train schedules to and from Dimapur work against easy travel because not even one long distance train starts from Dimapur. There are around 42 long distance passenger and express trains starting from either Tinsukia or Dibrugarh. Dimapur should have at least ten long distance trains by merit of being the second highest revenue earner for the NF Railway. According to a study titled “Economic Impact Assessment and Analysis of Hornbill Festival 2019” conducted by the department of tourism in collaboration with M/S Indihut consultancy with MBA students from Nagaland University, several suggestions were also made to take the festival to a higher level in order to promote tourism and trade etc.
Tourism in every sense of the term has a global meaning of free travel, trade and stay. Tourists visiting Kisama for Hornbill Festival loved local brew popularly known as ‘Zutho’ (Naga rice beer).
The other stronger variety also called Ruhi (like Japanese Sake) is also popular. However, in view of the Prohibition Act these are also prohibited. Therefore, there is a move to partially relax the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act 1989 so that local brew or beer could be permitted.
Besides the main cultural platform housed at the centre of the impressive Kisama Heritage Village, the Hornbill Festival also offers a variety of attractions. There are intricate Naga arts and crafts including hand woven shawls, mekhela (ladies wrap-around), table runners, cushion covers, jackets, neck ties etc. These are very popular and much-in-demand items outside the state. The number and variety of handicrafts is not only increasing in variety but also in quality.
Naga traditional as well as contemporary cuisines have found wide acceptance across India and abroad with their mouth-watering dishes (sparked by the extra fire of the famed Naga Raja Mircha). The tempting dishes from every tribe have their individual appeal.
There are traditional games and sports and among which have been the pork and chilly eating contests.
The variety of fruits and indigenous vegetables across the state is waiting to go global but even at home, people themselves are amazed at the richness and taste of the indigenous and organically grown fruits and vegetable etc. Flowers are also blooming across Nagaland as the climate has a friendly patch for every flower species.
It is said Nagas take to music as duck takes to water. That is not a vain statement as many renowned musicians from other parts of India and abroad seem to agree. The international rock competition is also a huge attraction for music fans from the region and other parts of India.
There are many local entrepreneurs, qualified and experienced and who are running eateries, bakeries, catering and manufacturing food items. There are also scores of young sound engineers doing business besides videographers. The state government spends around Rs.5 to 10 crore approximately for food, catering, transport, sound and other requirements for the Hornbill Festival. It would therefore, be of immense help to the entrepreneurs if tenders are floated to for the of the deserving entrepreneurs.