Ecotourism - A Way of Holistic
Development in Rural Areas
There
is no dearth of natural beauty in India starting from the great
Himalayas in the North, river systems of central India, vast ocean
stretches, beautiful ghats, valleys, deserts and forests. Lot of these
places have been developed as important tourism centres by the
hospitality industry. The Himalayan states receive more than 700,000
tourists every year for commercial and pilgrimage tourism. This growth
in traditional tourism has resulted in over exploitation of natural
resources coupled with unsystematic development and environmental
pollution seen in the form of huge plastic footprint left by tourists.
Nielsen report of 2016 ‘Adventure Tourism
Market Study in India’ prepared for
Ministry
of Tourism, states that trekking is the most practiced landbased
adventure activity in the north zone states, especially Himachal Pradesh
and Uttarakhand. The report also states that Himachal Pradesh and
Uttarakhand have maximum number of unorganised adventure tour operators
- around 334 and 135 respectively. Popular trek routes Kheerganga and
Triund and other such commercial treks have become a party ground for
many young tourists coming from the neighbouring states who have filled
the trek routes with heaps of plastic water bottles and plastic packages
of commercially available food items in the villages. The commercial
tourist hotspots in the hills have also witnessed rapid unchecked
construction of tourism infrastructure. The two Himalayan states in
north India have paid a heavy price in terms of loss of life and
property during natural disasters partly due to unchecked construction
for tourism. The situation is tense in other mountain states as well in
terms of socio-economic scenario. Sikkim is facing a huge challenge of
low job opportunities for the local communities. The data suggests that
70% of the jobs are taken up by outsiders leaving the local people
deprived of opportunities within their own state.
The Indian Himalayan states thus have to
grapple with unchecked tourist influx, low job opportunities for the
local community and poor waste management in and around the city and
popular trek routes as well. Eco-tourism can play an important role in
addressing these issues. The word ecotourism means responsible tourism
and more specifically tourism which leaves minimum impact on nature.
There are still many unexplored areas in India which could be developed
as eco-tourism spots and they can contribute significantly in the
economic development of local communities.
Ecotourism can be used to promote women and
youth entrepreneurship in rural areas, thereby addressing issues of job
creation in these areas. The traditional cuisines, traditional
agriculture are mostly known by the women of a particular area. However,
their contribution is not acknowledged since their services are not yet
monetised. Eco tourism can help by converting the daily activities of
women into income generating ventures. They can offer hospitality to the
tourists by providing traditional food, offering homestays in their
houses, helping them to learn local agriculture practices. Local youth
can become eco-guides and introduce local flora, fauna, medicinal plants
to the tourists. Becoming trek guides is another activity where local
youth can find their livelihoods instead of migrating to cities. Thus,
ecotourism can play an important role in the holistic and sustainable
development of rural areas by promoting the local food, culture,
language, handicrafts, sports, indigenous knowledge, medicines as well
as generating livelihoods across sectors, gender, caste and age.
The tourism sector is expected to grow at an
unprecedented rate with an average annual rate of 7.9% from 2013 to
2023. It is expected that the Indian Himalayan Region will receive 240
million tourists by 2025 (Dr. Vikram Singh Gaur August, 2018)2. It is
thus crucial to intensify the reach of ecotourism in the Himalayan
states to promote responsible tourism.
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Reference:
1. https://www.businessdestinations.com/destinations/tourism-to-the-himalayas-causes-a-mountain-of-problems/
2. https://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/document_publication/Doc2.pdf
Gitika Goswami
ggoswami@devalt.org
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