Role of Eco-Tourism In Making Chandigarh A Sustainable City

Main Article Content

Article Sidebar

Published Oct 11, 2021
Pranav Aggarwal
Deepika Puri Sushil Kalra Naveen Kumar Rajesh Kumar Kaushal

Abstract

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), described ecotourism as travel responsible to natural areas and it conserves the environment, sustains the wellbeing of the local populace and involves quality application and education [1]. India is a fascinating tourism destination because of its rich cultures and traditions, physiography, ecosystems and unique flora and fauna.
Tourism serves as an important means for generating revenue for protected areas to offset the cost of conservation and maintenance [2] opined that in order to control the increasing environmental degradation and to establish the significance of the losing elements of environment and to ensure the notion of sustainable development, it is necessary to measure their value in monetary terms. The authors in [3] expressed similar sentiments about the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) situated in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. The park has been blessed with distinct biodiversity, flora & fauna and is one of the best cotourism destinations in the state. The present work is undertaken to unearth the gaps in knowledge about present scenario and expected improvements in the status of ecotourism in the Chandigarh tricity region of north India. Aspects like positive impacts of ecotourism, doubts caused by the slow progression of ecotourism, measures to be used to rectify the challenges are to be looked into. The country does not have a well framed ecotourism policy which needs to be considered with all the stakeholders. It is thus important for financial sustainability of hospitality industry as well as well being of the locality of operation coupled with the growing public demand to reduce pollution and the industry’s ability to support social dimensions such as mitigation of poverty and promotion of cultural interaction. Research methods involve conceptual, qualitative and quantitative surveys and case studies. The earlier studies in India include principles of ecotourism like environmental conservation, cultural preservation, community participation, economic benefits, and empowerment of vulnerable groups. But no specific study related to this region could be noticed.
The social impacts observed in ecotourism studies include empowerment of vulnerable groups, especially women. Another social benefit attained through ecotourism is environmental awareness. Awareness of conservation and preservation of the natural environment by mitigating anthropogenic intervention is one of the important theme of ecotourism. For example, environmental awareness provided to local communities has changed their attitudes and behaviours as to depending on forest resources and protecting an endangered species ‒ the Indian Rhinoceros ‒ from poaching Conservation of flora and fauna in PAs is the major environmental impact of ecotourism. In another study, authors [4] evaluated the impacts of ecotourism on the natural environment, its contribution to the local economy and conservation, the extent of participation of the host community, and its capacity to educate the stakeholders. They studied the sustainability of nature tourism in three destinations in the Kufri-Chail-Naldehra area of Himachal Pradesh, India and concluded that in its present form, tourism in the study area does not meet the criteria for true ecotourism. In another study authors [5] agreed that tourism has resulted in heavy economic growth & heritage significance of Shimla concomitant with consequential environmental losses. Similar feelings were displayed by [6] about prosperity and sustainability of tourism in Sikkim. The authors [7] considered ecotourism as a panacea around the world in their study on Community Based Ecotourism (CBET) in the Punjab state. She found multidimensional service quality to be a direct determinant of satisfaction.

How to Cite

Aggarwal, P. ., Puri, D. ., Kalra, S. ., Kumar, N., & Kaushal, R. K. (2021). Role of Eco-Tourism In Making Chandigarh A Sustainable City. SPAST Abstracts, 1(01). Retrieved from https://spast.org/techrep/article/view/2408
Abstract 362 |

Article Details

References
[1] C. Cabral and R. L. Dhar, “Ecotourism research in India: from an integrative literature review to a future research framework,” J. Ecotourism, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 23–49, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2019.1625359
[2] M. Dutta, “A Review of Existing Literature for Estimating Peoples ’ Willingness to Pay for Ecotourism Resources,” no. 4, pp. 135–145, 2020.
[3] V. Kumar, D. Gupta, and J. Kumar, “Local Community’s Perception about Impact on Ecotourism by UNESCO World Heritage Site Status in Great Himalayan National Park,” Asian J. Adv. Basic Sci., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 39–46, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.33980/ajabs.2020.v08i01.005.
[4] R. N. Batta, “Evaluating Ecotourism in Mountain Areas: A Study of Three Himalayan Destinations,” Int. Rev. Environ. Strateg., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 41–61, 2006, [Online]. Available: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=21700553&site=eds-live&scope=site.
[5] A. Vohra, “Responsible Residents & Tourists for Ecotourism in Shimla,” J. Int. Acad. Res. Multidiscip., vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 132–140, 2016.
[6] S. Dam, “Issues of Sustainable Ecotourism Development in Sikkim: An Analysis,” South Asian J. Tour. Herit., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 32–48, 2013, [Online]. Available: www.corbettbn.com.
[7] P. Chopra and M. Aggarwal, “Quality Determinants of Community Based Eco-Tourism: An Evaluative Study on the State of Punjab,” BRICS J. Educ. Res., vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 258–266, 2016.
Section
SMH1: Management

Most read articles by the same author(s)