International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 Volume 2, No. 4, April 2013

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Sustainable Tourism Development in Uttarakhand Region of

India

Dr. Nawaz Ahmed, Lecturer, Govt. P.G College Rajouri, J&K, India

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the sustainable development of

tourism in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand is a state in the

Northern Himalayan Region in India and it has been a hot

spot of tourism due to its magnificently diverse

landscapes, high biodiversity enough religious tourist

potential and rich cultural heritage, which has also

generated a good source of income and employment to

youths and rural masses. Tourism is one of the biggest and

fastest-growing economic sectors in the global economy

and has significant environmental, cultural, social, and

economic effects, both positive and negative. Tourism has

been noted as the world’s largest and fastest growing

industry. The main objectives of the study are the

formation of tourist circuits, to find out the problems and

suggest a suitable plan for sustainable tourism

development in Uttarakhand.

A field based systematic survey was carried out on the

basis of questionnaire in some selected tourism

destinations to find out the problems and the data has

been calculated on the basis of simple percentage

methods. Further the maps have drawn through GIS Arc-

view 3.1 for the better results. Sustainable tourism is one

of the pre-requisites of achieving sustainable development

in this region. This form of sustainable tourism, oriented

toward the viability of tourism industry, is referred to as

the ‘economic sustainability of tourism’ or ‘tourism

imperative’. In order to achieve this, the primary aim of

tourism development requires physical resources to

facilitate its expansion. Maintaining the quality of the

environment, however, is usually also among the main

goals of sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism can be

taken in four different interpretations that include

economic sustainability of tourism, the ecologically

sustainable tourism, sustainable tourism development with

both focus of environment as well as long term feasibility

of the industry and finally tourism as a part of a strategy

for sustainable development. Therefore, the purpose of this

research is to adopt integrated approach and

establishment of new plans for the sustainable

development of tourism in Uttarakhand. And finally to

synthesis all the findings and give feasible suggestions and

recommendations for further development of tourism in

this region.

Keywords Sustainable development, tourism, cultural,

environmental, integrated approach.

INTRODUCTION

Countries and regions where the economy is driven by the

tourism industry have become increasingly concerned with

the environmental, as well as the socio-cultural problems

associated with unsustainable tourism. As a result, there is

now increasing agreement on the need to promote

sustainable tourism development to minimize its

environmental impact and to maximize socio-economic

overall benefits at tourist destinations. The concept of

sustainable tourism, as developed by the World Tourism

Organization (WTO) in the context of the United Nations

sustainable development process, refers to tourist activities

“leading to management of all resources in such a way that

economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while

maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological

processes, biological diversity and life support systems”

(see UN, 2001a).

In Uttarakhand tourism is consider to be an important

vehicle for economic and social development. The tourism

industry has the potential to generate foreign exchange

earnings, create employment, promote development in

various parts of the Region, reduce income and

employment disparities among regions, strengthen

linkages among many sectors of the national as well as

state economy and help to alleviate poverty. However, this

standard view of the tourism industry does not give a

complete picture of the potential contribution that tourism

can provide for parts of country in general and other

countries in particular. A more complete viewpoint can be

provided by the concept of sustainable tourism

development, because it can help policy-makers make

more effective policies and plans designed to realize the

full social and economic potential of the tourism industry.

Sustainable tourism development is premised on the

responsibility of governments and all stakeholders in the

tourism sector to ensure that long-term prosperity and the

quality of life of future generations is not placed at risk.

(Mohanty, 1992).

Sustainability principles refer to the environmental,

economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism

development, and a suitable balance must be established

between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term

sustainability. Thus, sustainable tourism should:

1. Make optimal use of environmental resources

that constitute a key element in tourism

International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 Volume 2, No. 4, April 2013

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development, maintaining essential ecological

processes and helping to conserve natural heritage

and biodiversity.

2. Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host

communities, conserve their built and living

cultural heritage and traditional values, and

contribute to inter-cultural understanding and

tolerance.

3. Ensure viable, long-term economic operations,

providing socio-economic benefits to all

stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including

stable employment and income-earning

opportunities and social services to host

communities, and contributing to poverty

alleviation

Sustainable tourism in its purest sense is an industry which

attempts to make a low impact on the environment and

local culture, while helping to generate income,

employment, and the conservation of local ecosystems. It

is responsible tourism that is both ecologically and

culturally sensitive. In order to sustain tourism, it is

necessary for countries to address various issues arising

from tourism’s contribution to development in a

comprehensive, systematic way. Issues of policy-making,

planning, management and the participation of the private

sector and other stakeholders must be addressed in terms

of opportunities for action and possible constraints that

need to be overcome by concerted efforts.

OBJECTIVES

The present study has certain specific research objectives.

They are as follows:

1. To contribute toward the Conservation of the

Environment, Natural and Cultural Resources.

2. To assess the growth of tourism based on a

Sustainable Market Position

3. The sustainable tourism should be developed on

basis of community- means community based

development and Pro-poor tourism concept. (PPT)

4. Environmental Sustainability

METHODOLOGY

The underlying idea of the Inskeep methodology is that of

achieving sustainable development, which implies that

natural, cultural and other resources of tourism are

conserved for continuous use for the future, while bringing

benefits for the local societies. The main focus of the

methodology to achieve sustainable tourism development

will be put on environmental planning approach. This

approach involves a thorough survey and analysis of the

environment to determine the most suitable types and

locations of development. In vulnerable areas, like

Meadows, forests, the environment is of significant

importance during the planning process. The methodology

is a basis and has been somewhat adjusted to this research,

the original of In keep is more comprehensive. The

developed methodology, illustrated in figure 1.1, is

composed of a number of steps that lead to the final

recommendations:

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STUDY AREA

Uttarakhand—the “Land of God” (known as Uttaranchal

from 2000 to 2006) is one of the most beautiful and

enchanting states of northern India. Blessed with

breathtaking natural beauty, rivers and many mountains,

this state has been the heaven for people seeking solace in

spirituality and a paradise for adventure lovers. Nestled in

the Himalayas, Uttarakhand mainly depends upon its

tourism industry that generates huge revenues for its

economy.

The location of Uttarakhand is between 30°03′N to 30

°05’N and79°19′E 79°31’E. Uttarakhand has a total

geographic area of 51,125 km², of which 93% is

mountainous and 64% is covered by forest. It has a

population of about 6.0 million at 94.4 per sq. km. Most of

the northern parts of the state are part of Greater Himalaya

ranges, covered by the high Himalayan peaks and glaciers,

while the lower foothills were densely forested till

denuded by the British log merchants and later, after

independence, by forest contractors. There is no dearth of

tourist hot-spots in Uttarakhand. For everyone, there is

some place to visit whether you are interested in

pilgrimage, spirituality and adventure sports or camping.

The tourist places that are hit with visitors are Dehradun,

Nainital, Almora, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag,

Haridwar and Tehri Garhwal. Uttarakhand borders Tibet

to the north, Nepal to the east, and the states of Himachal

Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (of which it formed a part

before 2000) in the west and south respectively. The

region is traditionally referred to as Uttarakhand in Hindu

scriptures and old literature, a term which derives from the

Sanskrit for Northern Country or Section. In January 2007,

the name of the state was officially changed from

Uttaranchal, its interim name, to Uttarakhand, according to

the wishes of a large section of its people. The provisional

capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun which is also a rail-

head and the largest city in the region.

Location Map of Uttarakhand

Fig 2

International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 Volume 2, No. 4, April 2013

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Uttarakhand, one of Hinduism most spiritually auspicious

pilgrimage circuits. Rishikesh near Haridwar is known as

the preeminent yoga centre of India while the spectacular

view from Hemkund is of special significance to Sikhs.

Leisure, adventure, and religious tourism play a prominent

role in Uttarakhand's economy, with the Corbett National

Park and Tiger Reserve and the nearby hill-stations of

Nainital, Mussoorie, Almora and Ranikhet being amongst

the most frequented destinations of India. The state also

contains numerous peaks of interest to mountaineers,

although Nanda Devi, the highest and best-known of

these, has been off-limits since 1982. Other national

wonders include the Valley of Flowers, which along with

Nanda Devi National Park form a UNESCO World

Heritage Site.

SOCIAL INDICATORS OF TOURISM IN

UTTARAKHAND

Social indicators play an important role for the

development of the tourism industry in a region. Although

both the social as well as the environmental indicators are

interdependent on each other, but in the modern concepts

of tourism more emphasis given on the social indicators.

Social indicators include place of living, health, longitivity

nutrition, literacy, employment, education, people,

transport, tourist services and more others. These modern

days the environment influences less on people as

compared to the human impacts on the environment. Man

controls the environment wholly and solely and less

impact of environment on man. It has been observed from

the Table 1 that 1000 tourists have been interviewed, out

of which 90 percent tourists feel that Uttarakhand is the

best place to visit while 10 percent surveyed tourists feel

average not too good not too bad.

Table 1:- Tourists opinion regarding various social indicators in percentage.

Opinion regarding Excellent Average Below average

Place 90 10 00

Accommodation 52 25 23

Food 24 39 37

Transport 12 29 59

Tourist service 52 33 15

Security (Feel secure) 70 25 05

Climate 80 15 05

Source: - Based on Field survey by Author 2007

Their concept regarding the accommodation also shows a

great variation in the tourist concepts. 52 percent feel

accommodation is good while 25 percent feel average and

37 percent below average. In general the given table

shows that tourists visited Uttarakhand are not happy with

the food transport. Mostly tourists like the climate and

more than 50 percent surveyed tourists feel that tourist

service is good in Uttarakhand.

SUSTANABLE TOURISM

DEVELOPMENT BY FOUR PILLAR

CONCEPT

The sustainable tourism development is actually based on

four pillars, economic, ecological, cultural and

community. Various guidelines have been given for

development of each pillar.

1. Economic sustainability - that is profitable in both

the immediate and long term

• Form partnerships throughout the entire supply chain

from micro-sized local businesses to multinational

organizations

• Use internationally approved and reviewed guidelines for

training and certification

• Promote among clients an ethical and environmentally

conscious behavior

• Diversify the products by developing a wide range of

tourist activities

• Contribute some of the income generated to assist in

training, ethical marketing and product development

• Provide financial incentives for businesses to adopt

sustainability principles.

2. Ecological sustainability - development that is

compatible with the maintenance of essential ecological

processes, biological diversity and biological resources

• Codes of practice should be established for tourism at all

levels

• Guidelines for tourism operations, impact assessment

and monitoring of cumulative impacts should be

established

• Formulate national, regional and local tourism policies

and development strategies that are consistent with overall

objectives of sustainable development

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• Institute baseline environmental impact assessment

studies

• Ensure that the design, planning, development and

operation of facilities incorporate sustainability principles

• Ensure tourism in protected areas, such as national parks,

is incorporated into and subject to sound management

plans

• Monitor and conduct research on the actual impacts of

tourism

• Identify acceptable behavior among tourists

• Promote responsible tourism behavior

3. Cultural sustainability - increase people's control

over their lives and is compatible with the culture and

values of those affected and strengthen the community

identity

• Tourism should be initiated with the help of broad based

community input

• Education and training programs to improve and manage

heritage and natural resources should be established

• Conserve cultural diversity

• Respect land and property rights of traditional

inhabitants

• Guarantee the protection of nature, local and the

indigenous cultures and especially traditional knowledge

• Work actively with indigenous leaders and minority

groups to insure that indigenous cultures and communities

are depicted accurately and with respect.

• Strengthen, nurture and encourage the community's

ability to maintain and use traditional skills.

• Educate tourists about desirable and acceptable behavior

• Educate the tourism industry about desirable and

acceptable behavior

4. Local or community sustainability - that is designed

to benefit local communities and generate/retain

income in those communities

• The community should maintain control over tourism

development

• Tourism should provide quality employment to

community residents.

• Encourage businesses to minimize negative effects on

local communities and contribute positively to them

• Ensure an equitable distribution of financial benefits

throughout the entire supply chain

• Provide financial incentives for local businesses to enter

tourism

• Improve local human resource capacity.

PRO-POOR TOURISM: A POVERTY

REDUCTION STRATEGY IN

UTTARAKHAND

While responsible ecotourism and other sustainable

tourism strategies may bring significant socio-economic

benefits to host communities, they are not necessarily

aimed at poverty alleviation. Given that the United

Nations Millennium Declaration 6 has placed poverty at

the centre of the international development agenda, it can

be argued that sustainable tourism development should go

beyond the promotion of broad socio-economic

development and give greater priority to poverty

reduction. This priority shift would also address a

somewhat ignored recommendation of the seventh session

of the Commission on Sustainable Development which,

interalia, urged Governments “to maximize the potential

of tourism for eradicating poverty by developing

appropriate strategies in cooperation with all major

groups, and indigenous and local communities” (see UN,

1999c). A pro-poor tourism (PPT) approach differs from

ecotourism and other sustainable tourism strategies in that

its overriding goal is to deliver net benefits to the poor. 7

While PPT and ecotourism may have some similar

objectives, the key difference is that poverty reduction is

the core focus of the PPT approach, rather than a

secondary component of a mainly environmental

sustainability strategy. In other words, although

environmental protection remains an important PPT goal,

the quality of the environment in which targeted poor

groups live is only one part of a broader poverty reduction

strategy. There are several reasons why tourism

development could be a particularly effective tool of

poverty reduction. Firstly, tourism offers considerable

employment opportunities for unskilled labour, rural to

urban migrants and lower-income women. Second, there

are considerable linkages with the informal sector, which

could generate positive multiplier effects to poorer groups

that rely on that sector for their liveli- hoods. Third,

tourism tends to be heavily based upon the preservation of

natural capital—such as, wildlife and scenery—and

cultural heritage, which are often “assets that some of the

poor have, even if they have no financial resources”

(Ashley et al., 2001:2).

It is increasingly realized that promoting greater

community participation in tourism development not only

provides stronger incentives to conserve natural capital,8

but can also lead to a more equitable sharing of benefits

and thus greater opportunities for poverty alleviation. But

while ecotourism and PPT both aim to increase

community participation in general, PPT also goes beyond

this goal in that it includes specific mechanisms to

enhance the participation of and opportunities for the

poorer segments of society. Three key components of the

PPT approach are:

(a) improved access to the economic benefits of tourism

by expanding employment and business opportunities for

the poor and providing adequate training to enable them to

maximize these opportunities;

(b) measures to deal with the social and environmental

impact of tourism development, particularly the above-

mentioned forms of social exploitation, as well as

excessive pressure on natural resources, pollution

generation and damage to ecosystems; and

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(c) policy reform, by enhancing participation of the poor

in planning, development and management of tourism

activities pertinent to them, removing some of the barriers

for greater participation by the poor, and encouraging

partnerships between government agencies or the private

sector and poor people in developing new tourism goods

and services.

RURAL SPACE AND VILLAGE TOURISM

IN UTTARAKHAND

Auli: - It is located in chamoli district. Auli, 16 kms, from

Joshimath. Joshimath 256 kms. From Rishikesh. The

natural advantages of Auli's slopes coupled with state of

the art facilities provided by us. The snow capped slopes

of auli are flanked by stately coniferous and oak forests

which cut wind velocity to the minimum. Auli offers a

panoramic view of Himalayan peaks like the Nanda Devi

(7817 mts.) Kamet (7756 mts.) Mana Parvat (7273 mts.)

and Dunagiri (7066 mts.) seemingly only a snowballs

throw away.4

Auli offers perfect skiing conditions.

Seasonal skiers have clean stretches of absolutely virgin

slopes to sport on. These slopes provide excellent

opportunities for cross country, slalom and downhill

skiing events. 2 A 500 mts. Long ski lift carries skiers back

to the slope top, thus saving them the trouble and time to

bridge up wearing long skis, apart from annual skiing

festivals three official national championships have also

been held here. Bina is located in the Almora tehsil of

Almora district. This village is having diversifies cultural

diversity. Having high Sex ratio 1159 (females per 1000

males). Soli is located in the Bhikia Sain tehsil of Almora

district. Having 1333 sex ration (females per 1000 males)

and Literacy rate is 75.57%. Kandey is located in the

Almora tehsil of Almora district having Sex ratio 1319

(females per 1000 males) and literacy rate 55.92%. Joshi

Gaon is located in the Bageshwar tehsil of Bageshwar

district having literacy rate74.40% while sex ratio 917

(females per 1000 males). Kafali is located in the

Bageshwar tehsil of Bageshwar district having sex

ratio1476 (females per 1000 males) and literacy rate

64.28%. The total no. of households is 12 only. These

characteristics make these villages a model to show out

side World and having important tourism potentiality.

Besides the concept of Community based cultural

tourism should be developed. Establishment of Village

Resorts which is another important tourist attraction. 5

CONCLUSION

This paper has introduced some of the key features behind

sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism concepts have

grown out of the idea of sustainable development which

was first identified about 15 years ago. The principles of

sustainable development focus on taking a longer-term and

more cautious approach to development to ensure that our

children can enjoy a quality life. Sustainable tourism has

identified how the tourism industry can contribute to

overall sustainable development and continue to provide

high quality, low impact experiences. Sustainable tourism

is built around four pillars of tourism, economic

sustainability, ecological sustainability, cultural

sustainability and local sustainability.

All four of these elements must be addressed if we are to

achieve sustainable tourism. As somebody from a business

school background, sustainability can be considered as a

strategy, which moves it away from the abstract into the

practical. Strategies are designed to move an organization

or destination from a current less favoured position to a

more favoured future position. In doing so, strategic

decisions are based on vision, the identification of shared

goals, and leadership.

REFERENCES AND NOTES

[1] Aggarwal, J. C., Agrawal, S. P., & Gupta, S. S. (Eds.).

(1995). Uttarakhand: past, present, and future. New

Delhi: Concept Pub. Co

[2] Guha, R. (2000). The unquiet woods : ecological

change and peasant resistance in the Himalaya

(Expanded ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: University of

California Press

[3] Mohanty, P. (1992): Hotel Industry and Tourism in

India, Ashish Publishing House, 8/81, Punjabi Bagh,

Delhi, p.43-45.

[4] Kandari, O. P., & Gusain, O. P. (Eds.). (2001).

Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture & Society.

Srinagar, Garhwal: Transmedia

[5] Rawat, A. S. (1989). History of Garhwal, 1358-1947:

an erstwhile kingdom in the Himalayas. New Delhi:

Indus Pub. Co.

[6] See A/RES/55/2, 18 September 2000.

[7] The analysis here is based mainly on C. Ashley et al.

(2001).

[8] Recent empirical analysis of economic incentives for

ecotourism in Ecuador shows, for example, that local

income generation depends primarily on the level of

local organization, as well as on the importance of the

tourist attraction and the degree of tourism

specialization available. See Wunder (2000)