In Meghalaya, 80% of the population lives in rural areas, and many residents are involved in various economic activities essential to improving their quality of life. Apart from agricultural activities, the handloom sector is considered important by many rural communities. The purpose of the study is to assess the current scenario of traditional handloom practices and to examine the perception of weavers' communities of Umden-Diwon Village, Ri Bhoi District, Meghalaya, India, on integrating traditional handloom practices as a tourism development tool. The study adopted a mixed-method approach, using a structured questionnaire (n=130) and semi-structured interviews (n=91). The concept of the study draws upon the context of the theoretical framework based on empowerment theory and stakeholder theory. Major key findings reveal that most of the weavers' communities perceive tourism as a development tool, with high mean scores for community participation in tourism planning (M=4.88), support for traditional practices as cultural attractions (M=4.83), and belief in tourism's role in economic growth (M=4.78). The 9-item perception scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α=0.928). However, significant challenges persist, including limited awareness among the weavers' community and tourists (86.15%), inadequate marketing strategies (74.62%), and a deficit in infrastructure development (58.46%). Despite earning below RS. 10,000 monthly from traditional handloom practices (57.69%), weavers demonstrate a positive optimism to participate in tourism initiatives. The study also proposes recommendations like infrastructure enhancement, strengthened marketing strategies, capacity-building programmes, and policy frameworks that support integration of traditional handloom practices into a sustainable community-based tourism resource, which fosters cultural preservation and weavers' community empowerment.
Makri et al. (Thu,) studied this question.