The nature of tourism and tourists/pilgrims' inflow in Uttarakhand Himalaya

Year 2020, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 115 - 124, 30.12.2020

Vishwambhar Prasad Sati

https://doi.org/10.31822/jomat.731386

Abstract

The Uttarakhand Himalaya is bestowed with numerous places of tourists/pilgrims' interest. Mainly four types of tourism are practiced – natural, cultural (pilgrimage), wildlife/park, and adventurer tourism. This paper examines the nature of tourism and tourists/pilgrims’ inflow in the natural locales, pilgrimages, and administrative towns/cities in the Uttarakhand Himalaya. Data on tourists/pilgrims’ inflow in these tourist places and pilgrimages (2000-2018) were gathered from the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Council, Uttarakhand. The data were analyzed based on three types of places of tourists/pilgrims' interest. The paper is divided into three sub-sections – trends of tourists/pilgrims’ inflow (domestic and foreign) in all the places, domestic/foreign tourists’ inflow in the natural locales/administrative towns/cities, and pilgrims’ inflow (domestic and foreign) in the highland and the valleys pilgrimages. It has been observed that pilgrims’ inflow is higher in the pilgrimages than the tourists’ inflow in the natural locales and administrative towns/cities. Further, the two pilgrimages of the river valley – Rishikesh and Haridwar received more than 50% pilgrims during the period 2000-2018. The author observed that the trend of tourists/pilgrims’ inflow is not uniformed in all the tourists/pilgrims destinations. It has been observed that natural disasters, inaccessibility, and lacking infrastructural facilities have influenced the tourists/pilgrims’ in flow in the Uttarakhand Himalaya.

Keywords

Nature of tourism, Tourists / pilgrims, Natural locales, Pilgrimages, Uttarakhand Himalaya

References

• Ellis, C. (2003) When volunteers pay to take a trip with scientists – Participatory Environmental Research Tourism (PERT), Hum. Dimen. Wildlife, 8(1), 75–80.
• Government of India, (2013) India Tourism Statistics at a Glance, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, 2013; http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/ Other/Incredible%20India%20final%2021-7-2014%20english.pdf (accessed on 1 May 2017).
• Kelman, I. and Dodds, R. (2009) Developing a code of ethics for disaster tourism. Int. J. Mass Emerg. Disasters, 27(3), 272–296.
• Kulendran, N. and Witt, S. F. (2003) Forecasting the demand for international business tourism. J. Travel Res., 41(3), 265–271.
• Sati, V. P. (2019) Himalaya on the Threshold of Change. Springer International Publishers, Switzerland, DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-14180-6, P. 250.
• Sati, V. P. (2018) Carrying Capacity Analysis and Destination Development: A Case Study of Gangotri Tourists/Pilgrims’ Circuit in the Himalaya, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research APJTR Vol. 23 (3): 312-322, DOI: 10.1080/10941665.2018.1433220.
• Sati, V. P. (2015) Pilgrimage Tourism in Mountain Regions: Socio-Economic Implications in the Garhwal Himalaya, South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage, Vol 8(1) Pp: 164-182.
• Sati, V. P. (2013) Tourism Practices and Approaches for its Development in the Uttarakhand Himalaya, India, Journal of Tourism Challenges and Trends, Vol 6 (1), Pp. 97-112.
• Sharpley, R. (2004) Tourism: A Vehicle for Development? In R. Sharpley & D. J. Telfer (Eds.), Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues: Channel View Publications.
• Smith, C. and Jenner, P. (1997) Educational tourism. Travel Tourism Anal., 3, 60–75.
• Tribe, J. (2009) Philosophical Issues in Tourism, Channel View Publications, Bristol, United Kingdom. World Tourism Organization (2005) Making Tourism More Sustainable: A Guide for Policy Makers, WTO Publications.
• WTTC (2015) Travel and Tourism economic impact 2015 Indonesia, The authority on World Travel and Tourism, World Travel and Tourism Council, on-line edition; [e-mail]