pondicherry tourism proposal
TRANSCRIPT
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Application for Grant for an Action Research Project
Title
DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN
PONDICHERRY UNION TERRITORY:
POLICY, PLANNING, IMPLEMENTATION, AND
MONITORING
Su bmi tted to
By
PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY
MAY, 2005
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1. INTRODUCTION
Tourism has emerged as one of worlds larges t industr ies and a fastest
growing
sector of the world economy, with an average annual growth rate of 7%. It
is also true that ill-conceived, improperly planned and uncontrolled tourism
activities would adversely affect the natural as well as cultural resources .
However, tour ism industry has grater reasons to conserve/protect the
diversity and quality of the natural and cultural resources of the destination
areas , on which i t u lt imately thr ives . The l inkages between touri sm,
ecology, economics, culture, and livelihoods are inseparable and cut across
s ev er al sec to rs; h owev er, i ntan gi ble c osts an d b en ef its (d ue to
environmental and social-economic-cultural impacts) are rarely understood
an d a pp reci ated in th e ri gh t v ein . Th ou gh i t is wel l kn own th at
environment is the travel industrys base product, it is rarely respected by
the tourism promoters. While many tourism promotion efforts banner the
climate, sun, warmth, and sand of particular coastal destinations, tourisms
dependency on environments, in particular, nature-dominated environments,
does not appear to be well understood within the tourism and recreation
industry. This dependence is discussed only in the academic literature, the
language of which i s inaccessible to the p lanners and pol icymakers.
Impor tant ent ri es in the environmental management l ex icon such as
monitoring and coordination, carrying capacity, ecological foot prints, and
sustainability are rarely understood andappreciated by the tourism industry,
the planners, or the implementing agencies in India. Very often we focus
more on how the tour ism indust ry i s meeting i ts legal obligat ions for
environmental protect ion (such as emissions) than the dependency of
tourism on high-quality natural environments. The tourism industry in the
UT of Pondicherry is no exception.
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The tourism sector in India is characterized by a diversity of stake-holders,
with mixed priorities, but with lack of communication and coordination and
with mutual mis trus t , t ending toward a tr agedy of the commons -
overexploi tat ion of the commons (e.g. ground water, bio resources on
common lands, etc.), degradation of biodiversi ty, erosion of culture and
heri tage, and so on. The confl icts between human economic securi ty and
ecological integrity are getting graver than ever before. Thus, the tourism
and recreation industry are confronted with really
difficult choices about their future. The
decisions made now will for decades not only affect the local habitats and
ecosystems but also the lifestyles
and economic opportunities of residents in tourism
destination areas. Many of these decisions are proved to be
i rrever sible because once habit at s/ ecosys tems /communi ti es lose the
character
that makes them distinctive and attractive to
tourists, they lose their ability to vie for
tourist-based income in an increasingly
competitive marketplace.
Hence, we need to work towards integrated and sustainable approaches to
enhance the mutually reinforcing linkages, rather than fal ling preys to ad-
hoc , cornucop ian approaches . Wor ldwi de , t ou ri sm i s under go ing a
fundamental change, from the experiences and settings travelers demand to
the regulations governments impose to
protect the environment. Some sign s of these shifts are available from
elsewhere, ranging from the changing perception of the industry statements
on the
value of the environment to the consumer
demand for sustainable tourism options.
2. BACKGROUND
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While there are a number of sus ta inable touri sm opt ions c it ed in the
l i terature ecotourism (ET) is the most debated among these, and i t has
become almost customary to use the term ecoto urism as a generic
subst itute for sus ta inable touri sm (Boo, 1990) . Thi s i s a s igni fi cant
movement away from the traditional conception of ET as tourism in natural
areas . Throughout the proposal, we would be assuming thi s broader
conception of ecotourism as a fai thful operationalizat ion of sustainable
tourism principles.
Sustainable tourism has emerged in response to the increasing negative
impacts of ill- conceived and unplanned mass tourism activities and can be
classified into:
Natural - adventure tourism, ecotourism, and nature tourism
Cultural - archaeological, rural, religious and ethnic
Events - sports, carnivals, festivals, etc.
Others - educational/ health/medical/space tourism.
Pondicherry endowed with i t s beaut iful coas tl ine and farmlands , r ich
cultural diversity, heritage buildings, temple festivals, and handicrafts has
immense poss ibi li t ies for being one among Indias highly sought af ter
sustainable tourism/eco tourism destinations.
Worldwide, ET is the tourism industry's fastest growing sub-sector, with an
estimated annual growth of 10-15%. Some estimates suggest that 20% of all
international tourists are in some way involved in ecotourism. According to
the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, 20% of the revenue generated from
tour ism in developing countries i s due to ecotour ism. ET activit ies are
offered by a large and wide variety of operators, and practiced by an even
larger array of tourists. Because ecotourism is primari ly resource-based,
protection of these natural and cultural resources is essential for sustained
ecotour ism (Kusler , 1990) . Many conservat ion organizat ions andDevelop ing Sus ta inab le Tou r i sm in Pond icher ry UT: Po l icy , P lann ing , Imp lemen ta t ion , and Mon i to r ing
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governments see ecotour ism as the means to both preserve and develop
natural and cultural resources in the remote areas.
Many definitions of ecotourism have emerged since the term was coined in
1987. In 1991, The Ecotourism Society (TES) developed the following
definition of ecotourism: responsible travel to natural areas that conserves
the environment and sustains the well being of local people (Epler Wood,
1996) .While there i s no s ingle universal definit ion for ET, i t s general
characteristics can be summarized as follows:
I t includes all nature-based forms of tour ism, in which the main
mot ivation of the tour is ts i s the observation and appreciat ion for
admiring, enjoying and/ or studying nature as well as the traditional
cultures prevail ing in relatively undis turbed or uncontaminated
natural areas.
I t is generally, but not exclusively organized for environmentally
/social ly conscious small groups by special ized and small , locally
owned businesses.
I t minimizes negative impacts upon the natural and socio-culturalenvironment.
I t integrates conservation and sustainable l ivelihoods by providing
alternative employment and equitable income opportunities based on
tourism related micro-enterprises; this is done by active community
particip ation in planning, implementing and monitoring of ET
activities.
It increases awareness towards the conservation of heritage, natural
and cultural assets, both among locals and tourists by participatory,
interactive, interpretative, enlightening and educational experiences.
As noted, the connect ing thread between various types of al ternative
tourism, ecotourism being the most important among these, is the principleDevelop ing Sus ta inab le Tou r i sm in Pond icher ry UT: Po l icy , P lann ing , Imp lemen ta t ion , and Mon i to r ing
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of sustainability. Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of the
present tourists an d host regions while protecting and enhancing th e
opportunity for the future. It is envisaged as leading to the management of
all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be
fulf i lled, while maintaining environmental heal th. Sustainable tour ism
allows visitors to enjoy an
attraction, community, or region with a volume and
impact in such a way that the local culture and
environment are unimpaired.
An advocacy for eco-tourism based community development could be made
from any of the following fronts: f irs t , ecotourism is the largest industry
sub-segment and there i s a lot of money to f low in; second, increas ing
human populat ions and their demand on natural resources make i t almost
impossible for developing countries to leave large areas undeveloped; third,
the worlds biodiversi ty is being lost at an est imated 140 species per day
and ecotour ism is the solut ion that of fers the best rat ional solut ion to
overcome this ; four th, communi ty based ecotour ism can legi timize the
rights of local people who have for so long protected the resources in their
areas; f if th, with money from ecotourism, jobs for local people become
avai lable ( including ownership and management jobs) and heal th and
education of local people can be improved.
Though i t i s encouraging to note that throughout the wor ld, there i s a
growing need for greening the tourism industry and to eco-label tourism
and t ravel , as modern tour is ts are seeking dest inat ions with unspoiled
natural beauty, unfor tunately, some influent ial segments view i t as a
pass ing fad, a gimmick or a buzzword, and consi der it convenien tly as a
synonym with any offering resembling an outdoor activi ty, whether i t
takes a responsible approach to the environment or not. Often the ET label
is misused by tourism operators in what is known as green washing, or
green cloaking which include unregulated development of relatively
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undis turbed areas , appropr ia tion of ances tral l ands, or jus t apply ing
traditional tourism development models under the name of eco-tourism. If
ET becomes uncontrollable, large numbers of eco- tour is ts wil l quickly
constitute a mass and begin to impact on the local physical, biological, and
cultural environment. The resultant impacts will be n o different than that of
mass tourism- perhaps they can be even greater. If the destination areas are
located in ecologically/cultural ly sensit ive areas, the anticipated impacts
would be more severe and irreversible. Developing an area solely on the
basi s of tourism is also a risky proposition. Tourism is a fluctuating
industry, dependent on uncertain influences such as weather, foreign-
exchange rates, and p olitical stability. Planners also feel the possibility that
a tourism program may not at tract sufficient visi tors , or visi tors quickly
enough, to generate the quantities of revenue needed to meet the economic
expectations of the community, which can lead to disenchantment with the
program and th e belief th at tourism serves no useful purp ose. Th is can
result in a decreased l ikelihood that the community wil l make efforts to
protect resources and ecotourism initiative may plummet altogether
(Pedersen 1990).
I t has been noted tha t ET somet imes fundamental ly shi ft s r es idents '
relationships to one another and to thei r communi ty: changes are of ten
vis ib le t erms of communi ty sol idar ity, communi ty d iver si fi ca tion ,
delineation of social boundaries, competitive, and pro/anti social behavior,
etc (Huang, 1996) . Thankful ly, i t i s only condi tional ly that the above
mentioned shi ft s in r es idents r el at ionship become good or bad . I f
development is engineered in such a way as to reflect the conscience of the
local community, negative effects become insignificant. Ecotourism can
bri ng many changes to the resident community, and th e commu nity mu st
have a say in what i t is wil ling to accept . Some of these changes can be
very culturally detr imental . Without the whole-hearted support of these
local communit ies, ecotourism can fai l - locals may actually start ki l l ing
wildlife and destroying forests in retribution (Hughes 1996; Stonich 1996;
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Tchamie 1994) .In fact , no tour ism init iat ive can be successful without
res ident support . Success fu l ET ini ti at ives invar iably found synergic
relations with local community aspirations. Indeed, community participation
enhances a communitys sense of emotional at tachment with tourism and
community members even become ready to sacrifice their private benefits
for the furtherance of tourism in their community (McCool, 1994).
The development community has not adequately addressed how tourism can
work with local communities, and that there has been inadequate funding to
address t hi s i ss ue i n t he pas t. Most f or ei gn ( non- loca l) p lans f or
ecotourism development include community involvement, but view this
involvement f rom a f requently inappropr ia te Western mindset , not
necessari ly from the tradit ional cultural framework and cognit ion of the
local res idents (Escobar 1995; Ferguson 1994) . This i s not to say that
community involvement and local benefits in ecotourism development are
not championed. It only means that community values and specific cultural
beliefs are rarely integrated into development plans. Community
involvement is discussed only in terms of achieving a kind of secondary
benefit for local residents ; the primary goal is eith er th e conservation of
natural r esources , or for developers to make a profi t. Par ti cipa tory
approaches tha t empower local people for the Touri sm sec tor a re not
common. I t is t ime that developers form equal partnerships with local
communi t ies, and help to provide much needed funding for communi ty
ventures to empower community residents to control their own destiny in
the tourism landscapes (Brandon 1993).
Truly, sustainable tourism is to a great extent about the conservation of the
environment. But, it not by arresting developmental activities of all sorts.
Ins tead , i t achieves the means of sus ta inabil ity by proper ly p lanned
developmental act ivi t ies . Tourism that is not economically viable cannot
support the call for socio-cultural or environmental sustainabil i ty. Thus,
any successful tourism strategy ought to look into how to:
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Welcome, involve and satisfy Visitors
Achieve a profitable and prosperous Industry
Engage and benefit host Communities
Protect and enhance the local Environment
3. OBJECTIVES
Action research is an applied research strategy which collects information
to solve problems and to bring about changes in speci fi c set tings or
organizations. It aims to address both the practical concerns of people (in a
communi ty, organization etc) and the goals of research through people
working together on project s. Using methods such as par ti ciopatory
mapping, brainstorming, focus group discussions, workshops, etc. act ion
research is a flexible method of integrating research into projects, involving
communi ty par ti cipant s, and generat ing act ion. Thi s i s essenti al for
efficient planning and development. Effective action research depends on
the agreement and commitment of participants. It is very useful for working
on complex social problems or issues that need systematic planning and
analysis.
The major objectives of the proposed action research are:
To construct a tourism / environment / socio-economic database of
the selected tourism destination areas and the surrounding ecosystems
in the UT of Pondicherry
To develop a more complete conceptual base for ident ifying and
measuring the relat ionships between tourism development , natural
resource/ biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods
To evolve a customized Tourism Planning Toolkit for Pondicherry
To monitor social, cultural , economic, and environmental impacts of
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To promote ons it e environmental education by interpretat ion
programs, supportin g conservation of natu ral resources and bio-
diversity
To identify and suggest appropriate pollution control technologies for
the tourism sector (hotels/lodges, restaurants and resorts) - that are
easy to operate and maintain , environmental f riendly, socially
acceptable, and financially viable
To organize educational , t ra in ing, and advisory programs for
sustainable tourism/ET in the region
To support appropriate activities of sustainable tourism /ET product
development and marketing by recognizing and support ing the
identi ty, culture, and interests of local communit ies , based on the
needs, preferences, and expectations of the target groups
To catalyze wider adoption of recently emerging codes of ethics for
tourism stakeholders
To promote the ideas of ecotourism (ET) and sustainable tourism,
responsible travel and tour operation (Ecolodge/ Ecotel guidelines
and certification/evaluation programs) in the region
To create and integrate employment opportunities /local livelihoods/
en trep reneursh ips for women an d local peop le in natural
resource/biodiversi ty conservat ion and ET to the fulles t poss ible
extent by reinforcing the efforts of the government
To inf luence banking and f inancial ins ti tu tions in support ing
su sta in ab le to uri sm in iti ati ves by citi ng th e s tren gth s a nd
opportunities for it in the Pondicherry region.
To work with local populations to establish micro-enterprises that are
independent but supportive of the proposed sites to ensure optimizing
the benefits from various types of tourism
To help enable the UT of Pondicherry to hold important stakes in the
international cooperat ion and networking for communi ty based
sustainable tourism/ ET
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Through the proposed project, we would expect to achieve the following as
well:
Establishment of cooperation agreements with the Ministries of
To uri sm, an d E nv iron men t a nd Fo res ts ( GOI an d th ei r UT
counterparts) responsible for administering coastal areas to obtain
thei r backi ng and i nvol ve them i n devel op ing out pu ts i n t he
demonstration areas
Multi -sectoral part icipat ion in regional appraisal , select ion and
planning for demonstration areas
Participation of local communities, especial ly youth, in regional
appraisal, selection and planning for demonstration areas
Use of local capacity and human resources to develop products and
activities in the demonstration areas
Support for or complementing of local processes as priori ty
elements in developing demonstration experiences
Interactive participation in which key stakeholders participate in joint
analysi s, development of act ion p lans , and formation of local
institutions. Participation is seen as a right, not merely as a means to
achieve project goals . The process involves part icipatory methods
that yield the perspectives of different s takeholder groups,
structured learning p rocesses and problem solving approaches. It
is already learnt from case studies elsewhere (chiefly from SE Asian
countries ) that interactive participation would provide a useful
entry point for management partnership s in the region
Regular ongoing communication leading to closer understanding and
cooperation among the stakeholders (rather than merely for informing
or consultation)
Issue-based management approach to establishing partnerships. In
th is approach, r el evan t par tner s a re i dent if ied and i nv it ed t o
particip ate in the resolution of specific management issues, where
these have been identified. The Tourism Planning Toolkit that we aim
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to develop for Pondicherry will tackle specific issues that may arise
associated with the development and management of tourism.
Issue based approaches seek to answer:
How will this issue/decision affect the visitor?
What are the implications for the industry?
What is the impact on the community?
What is the environmental effect?
Answers to these questions can be used to check the future viability
of tourism decisions.
The proposed research init iat ive wi ll cons ider the following important
issues and seek/provide actionable answers for them ( adopted from Lash,
1998):
So ci al/Political Struct ure of Co mmu nity
Who makes decisions in community?
Who will interact with NGOs/ Co-management partners?
Who will be involved in ecotourism projects?
Who will distribute ecotourism benefits and how?
Ph ysical Lo ca tion of Ha ml ets & Nei ghborhoods
Is the community spread out?
Does it involve more than on e village?
Community Infrastructure
Are there roads, trails?
Can tourists get to all parts of the village?
What utilities are present?
Ec otourism Opportunities
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Is this a viable ecotourism site/community?
Is there a unique attraction?
What sites are available?
How will they be developed and maintained?
Training and Education
What is taught? Business, 2nd Language, Guiding, Crafts, etc.
Who will be trained?
When and how long (timeline) will they be trained?
How will they be evaluated?
Ma rketing
Who are the ecotourists?
Where are they coming from?
What are the ecotourists expectations?
How do ecotourists know about this place?
What other attractions are available nearby (to link with)?
En vironment
What environment should be sustained?
How to prevent degradation of natural resource?
How to prevent trash & pollution?
Who owns and controls land use?
Monitoring and Evaluation
Who should monitor and evaluate the above goals?
How and when should this be accomplished?
4. METHODOLOGY
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Specific destination areas in the UT of Pondicherry will be chosen for an in
depth study in such a way that they represent the length and breadth of the
UT in different gradients of health and/or degradation with regard to the
s tatus of habi tat divers i ty/biodiversi ty/cul tural divers i ty and natural
resources , t ak ing into account the socio-cul tura l and environmental
potentials for introducing sustainable tourism /ET as well as th e current
mass tour ism areas. They wil l be chosen f rom al l the four regions of
Pondicherry.
The next step will be the construction of an environmental/socio-economic
dat abas e by i mprovi ng the exi st ing dat a f or t he chosen a reas f rom
Government records, publications, unpublished documents and personal
observations. This will include the environmental profile, current/potential
l ivelihoods, environmental and socio-cultural impacts based on recently
emerging methodologies on indicators. General methodologies/guidelines
f or E IA a re ava il ab le f rom Rau and Woot en ( 1980), K lenner t and
Phantumvanit (1984), ADB (1986), Gray and Stokol (1988), Wathen
(1988) , Ahmad et .al . (1989) , Winpenny (1991) , Biswas and Agarwal
(1992) and Spllerberg (1992). Speci fic guidelines for tour ism EIA are
ava il ab le f rom Sharma ( 1995) & S inha ( 1998). Recen tl y emer gi ng
methodologies for ecological/environmental/ social /economic/cultural
indicators will be used, wherever necessary.
The following is a tentative list of such indicators:
Ecological/enviro nmental indicators indicators of pollution and
disturbance, ecological footprints , odor, smell , noise level , raise in
tempera ture , a ir quali ty , water quali ty /t as te /color , percentage
treatment of wastes generated, habitat fragmentation, percentage
vegetation cover and divers i ty, length of motorable roads in the
vicinity, behavioral abnormalities of wildlife abnormal changes in
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growth, health, reproductive potential , feeding habits , distr ibution/
migra tion/ d ispersal / regenera tion pat te rns, invas ion of exoti c
species, bio-diversity of birds, butterflies and other indicators.
Socio-cultural/economic indicators ch anges in th e visitors
f requency of v is it s/ st ay durat ion, v is itor densi ty / percept ion,
frequency of second visi ts , viewing pattern, improvements in basic
infrastructural faci l i t ies , percentage of locals employed in tourism,
disposable income /debt burden, changes in local life-styles, leisure
avail able and accumulat ion of asset s of the local communi ti es ,
percentage contribution of the local goods/food to the tourists
consumption, etc.
As a part of planning process key stake holding departments (especial ly
Department of Tour ism, Govt . of Pondicherry, PT&TDC, Pondicherry
Forest department, INTACH, ASI, etc) and personnel will be contacted and
necessary permission in writ ing wil l be obtained from them to visi t the
protected areas and oth er evidences, to access their documents as well as to
ensure official recognit ion, support and encouragement of the sustainable
tourism /ET enterprises. Secondary sources available in the form of policies
and guidelines, statistics and reports, white papers, research reports, papers,
management plans, books and journals necessary to the research topic will
be collected and analyzed to get sufficient answers to th e questions raised .
Based on the results of documentary analysis , a variety of questionnaires
will be framed using different questionnaire types in order to elucidate
complete information from the stakeholders. Question types may include
quantity or information, category, list or multiple choices, scale, ranking,
complete grid or table and open ended questions. Combinations of these
quest ion t ypes i n var ious ways a re t o be used t o d ra ft a compet en t
questionnaire. A pilot study would be conducted using the questionnaire and
the structured interview to test the effectiveness of the method. Necessary
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after the project is over using the student manpower from Tourism, Ecology
and Sustainable Development Departments of Pondicherry Universi ty to
observe the changes or t rends in the pr imary data. In addi t ion, the pas t
trends in the data will be collected from primary (recall data) and secondary
sources. The intended respondent under each category will be administered
face to face to get the best response for the questionnaire and the interview.
The respondents will be selected through simple random sampling strategy.
The sample s ize would l ike to cover at leas t 10 percentage of the total
population in each category. All the interviews will be recorded using
portable tape recorders for future retrieval and analysis. Responses from all
the r espondents and d if ferent p laces in the des tina tion areas wil l be
recorded using a digital camera for analysis and reference purposes.
Time Budget Analys is (TBA), problem / objective tree analysis and
gender analysis will be done for the randomly chosen households in
the selected human settlements using the methodologies suggested
by ADB (1994), Wi lliams (1994) and Mikkelson (19 95). Analysis of
TBA will reveal the time activity pattern of the target population and
also indicates their preferences and preoccupations. Problem tree
analysis is a visual technique to gain more understanding of the root causes
of the problems by drawing the problem tree which ultimately leads to the
preparation of th e objective tree to solve the problems. Gender analysis is a
powerful tool for an y su stainable development pro gram since it has been
noted that males and females are affected differently in consequence of any
developmental initiative.
Data collected through EIA, questionnaire, observation, field study and the
interview process would be analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative
analysi s. Triangula tion of quali ta tive and quant it at ive f indings wil l
defini tely enrich the f inal outcome. Interested local s take holders wil l be
i dent if ied and act ivel y invo lved i n the p rocess o f dat a col lect ion,
verification/validation, analysis and interpretation to the maximum possible
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extent, t raining them, i f necessary. This wi ll ensure that there wil l be
voluntary involvement for the subsequent monitoring of the project , even
after the project is completed.
A research advisory committee will be constituted consisting of the project
investigators, Heads of the Universi ty Departments of Ecology, Tourism,
and the Coordinator of MA Sustainable Development program as well as
representatives from the UT Government Department of Tourism, PT&TDC,
Pondicherry Forest Department, DRDA, PWD, INTACH, ASI , etc . The
committee wil l review the progress of the research once in three months,
based on the interim pro gress reports and advise the research team su itably.
A PERT/CPM table indicating the major phases of the project are given in
Table 1. Project budget is presented in Table 2 followed by justifications in
Table 3.
A brief background on the inst i tut ions involved is given in the Appendix
along with the bio-data of the investigators.
The broad d iv is ion of some of the impor tant output r espons ib il it ies
associated with the project is as follows:
S.No Executing Agent Output Responsibility
1
First Investigator
Construction of a tourism /
environment database
Environmental
education/interpretation program
Training and technical assistance
on sustainable tourism and ecotourism
for selected groups
Inter-institutional coordination in
tourism and environment
2 Construction a tourism / socio-
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Second Investigator economic database
Training and technical assistance
on evolving business plans for
sustainable tourism and ecotourism Marketing research and extension
Inter-institutional coordination in
tourism
Corporate Social responsibility
3 DoT, Pondicherry Facilitation in constructing the
databases
Inter-departmental coordination
within Govt.
5. PROJECT QUALITY CONTROL
We have devised an inbui l t mechanism to make sure that the project i s
taking the expected trajectories and that tangible progress is achieved at its
each major phase. The mechanism works concurrently with the project ,from its beginning to end. We believe that f lawless processes adopted in
the interim stages of the project wil l yield a f lawless f inished product in
the end.
Interim evaluation of the project will be done at critical points, in addition
to a thorough final review. The internal review of the project will be a self-
assessment of the achievements, impacts , and lessons learned during the
project implementation. The specific aims of th e evaluation are to:
Assess the effec tiveness , e ff ic iency and t imel iness of pro ject
implementation
Evaluate the impact of project activities and related outputs,
including their contribution to the overall goal of the project
Determine the project s relevance in relation to the needs of theDevelop ing Sus ta inab le Tou r i sm in Pond icher ry UT: Po l icy , P lann ing , Imp lemen ta t ion , and Mon i to r ing
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Table 1 ANNUAL WORK-PLAN
S.No Name of the activity Q -1 Q -2 Q-3 Q -4
1 Preliminary/Preparation work **
2 Exploratory visits **
3 Selecting study Areas, Preparation of
questionnaires obtaining permissions
and net working
** **
4 Training courses **
5 Conducting pilot studies **
6 Refining /redesigning research plan **7 Conducting field survey including
EIA/SCBA
** **
8 Compiling and Analyzing the data **
9 Stake holder consultations ** ** ** **
10 National workshop **
11 Submitting the final Report **
6. PRACTICAL RELEVANCE AND UTILITY OF THE PROJECT
Any integrated natural resource management strategy should ideally include
local communities as the most important stakeholder group. Well-planned
and properly managed sus ta inable /eco touri sm ventures ( especial ly
community based/run) will ensure equitable distribution of benefits without
compromising the conservation concerns of that area.
Gover nment o f Indi a i n gener al and s ome Mi ni st ri es i n par ti cu la r,
especial ly, Tourism and Environment and Forests , have been encouraging
sustainable tourism strategies for quite a long t ime. The objective is to
ensure regulated growth of sustainable tourism and ecotourism with their
posi tive impacts of environmen tal protection and community development.
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The sustainable tourism initiatives proposed by us are thus well in tune with
these objectives.
Exi st ing p ract ices t es ti fy t ha t eco -cul tu ra l t ou ri sm devel ops a t a
considerable speed and divers i fies cont inuously in a mult ifaceted way
(Bachleitner, 1999). It constitutes not only the base for the booming tourism
but acts more and more as an instrument for fostering tourism in rural and
periurban areas and for imp ro ving the quality of life of th e local
communi ti es . Our ini ti at ive wil l cer ta in ly l ead to improvements in
environmental quali ty and wil l faci l i tate the regeneration of local natural
resources /biodiversi ty/cul tural divers i ty. Our programs wil l faci li tate
organic linkages between tourism, conservation, and local livelihoods. The
Pondicherry Tour ism and Transport Development Corporation and the
Public Works Depar tment, Government of Pondicher ry , may use the
research findings for regulating the conventional tourism activities on long
term sustainable basis as well as for initiating new ecotourism projects.
Enterpr is ing but poor local communi ty groups wil l be ident if ied and
motivated to ini t iate community based ecotourism and other al ternative
l ivelihood enterpr ises in thei r areas wi th assis tance f rom the ongoing
developmental programs of the Government , such as Sel f Help Groups .
Selected youths shall be imparted sustainable guide training and we believe
a learning mult ipl ier effect f rom such an input. The growing interes t in
community tourism development is p aralleled by a switch of emphasis away
from large automatic grants to attract inward investment projects, towards
smal l f i rms, and indigenous development. The promotion of smal l and
medium enterprises by governmental authori t ies is on the basis that these
firms provide the community underpinnings for entrepreneurship and job
creation. Taking the experience of European Union countries as examples, a
study has been carried out to measure job creation performance against
targets . On the whole, the smal l and medium communi ty or iented eco
cultural tourism enterprises performed far better than their behemothal ,
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mass tourism counterparts. Also, it has been observed that, cetirus paribus,
tourists preferred to opt for the services of a community tourism provider
than of a mass tourism counterpart (Wanhill, 2000). We strongly anticipate
our projects impacts along the fronts of job creation and marketing.
We hold that the active cooperation of every stakeholder could be catalyzed
by awareness campaigns, brain-storming sessions, wo rkshops, networking,
e tc . Ample exposure wil l be provided for a ll the s takeholder s to the
emerging challenges facing the tourism industry, which is s truggling to
meet the twin conflicting ends of sustainability and growth. This will aid
the s takeholders in various capacit ies in evolving Dos and Don ts for
planning, implementing, monitoring, and practicing regulated mass tourism
in their regions. Formal training and capacity building of the staff from
PT&TDC and o ther r elated s take holders the var ious p layers in the
touri sm indus try ( such as t ransport , accommodation , and services) ,
Pondicherry Forest Department, PWD, DST&E, Pondicherry Municipality,
DRDA, Social Welfare, Town & Country Planning Department , etc i s
anticipated as part of the project . Local Government and Panchayati Raj
institutions will also be part of the forum, since they are the closest ones to
the people in the hierarchy of government. They would be trained in the
operational management of natural and cultural resources within thei r
periphery, in regional marketing, in visitor interpretati on, and eventually in
building a Vi sitor Inform ation Network (VI N) .
Our project is about synergizing preservation and marketing advantage for
the bourgeoning number of new tourists who believe that tourism is not
about master-slave relationship of domination and control. Insights gained
from our init iative can enable the indust ry to compete successful ly for
at tract ing this set of domest ic and international tour ists who wi ll not
hes i tate to pay a heavy premium for the enhanced qual i ty of the tour is t
product. Private tour operators and travel agencies ma y find our research
outcome useful in introducing/modifying /expanding their ventures and
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evolving partnerships with local community groups directly and indirectly
involved in touri sm, especia lly for marketing of indigenous touri sm
products. SME net working and cooperative alliances to ma rket oth erwise
unknown tourism products have been found successful elsewhere, some
important examples being the Annapurna project in Nepal and Tourihab
project in Portugal.
As a spin-off of the proposed project , we would be generating awareness
among the univers ity s tudent communi ty. They would be motivated to
involve themselves in greening the tourism industry of Pondicherry (by
assigning f ield projects, summer internships, and by enabl ing them to
participate in the semin ars, confer en ces, training courses, and wo rkshops to
be organized). If needed, the scheme may be extended to students from
other insti tutions, especial ly the undergraduate colleges aff il iated to the
University.
In course of t ime, the output of the study could get generalized and such
s tandardized outputs could then be employed for the development of
adequate human resources in the areas of tourism planning and development
in other States and Union Terri tor ies as wel l . Incidental ly, the recent
meet ing of the State ministers of Tour ism has emphasized the need for
embracing sustainable tourism paths, thus indicating the political will for a
change. Thus, we can c lea rl y f or es ee a day when Pondi cher ry wil l
eventually emerge as a p ioneer ing l eader in promoting ecologica lly
sustainable and socially equi table tour ism s trategies not only for the
Southern tourism circuit but also for the first time in our country.
Table 2 PROJECT BUDGET (for pha se 1 to be funded by the
De partme nt of Tourism, Govt. of Po ndicherry )
a) Salaries & Wages
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S .N o D es ig na tio n N o Am ou nt
(Rs.)
1 S eni or Projec t F ellow s/R es earc h Associates
@ Rs. 10000 P.M
2 240000
2 Field Technical Assistants
@ Rs. 3,000
4 1,44,000
4 Field assistants (non-technical) @ Rs 100 per day X
100 days
N.A. 10,000
Sub total 3,94,000
b) Permanent Equipment
S.No Equipment No. Amount
(Rs.)
1 Laptop Notebook (PIV, 256 RAM, 4 0 GB, Combo
Drive) with wireless internet connectivity
2 1,40,000.00
2 Digi tal Camera - 8 mega Pixel 1 35,000.00
3 Audio recorders @ Rs. 2000 4 8,000.00
5 Field Binocular 1 5,000.00
Sub Total 1,88,000.00
c) Expendables
S.No Item Amount
(Rs.)
1 CDs, Floppies, Stationeries 20,000.00
2 Communication Expenses
E mai l, Cou ri er , Cel l p ho ne , i nt ernent con nec ti on s, Pos ta l
charges
20,000.00
Sub Total 40,000.00
d) Travel and allowances
S .N o D es ig na tio n Am ou nt
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(Rs.)
1 Investigators
@ Rs6000 per visi t X 6 visi ts (other regions of UT)
36,000
2 Senior Research Fellow
@ Rs. 5000 per visi t x 12 visi ts
60,000
3 Field Technical Assistant
@ Rs. 2000 per visi t X 12 visi ts
24,000
Sub Total 1,20000*
e) Other project costs
S.No Activity Amount
(Rs.)
1 O rg ani zi ng St ak eh old er me et in gs , P RA exe rc is es 8 m ee ti ng s @
Rs.5000 per meeting
40,000
2 Purchasing books, data , journals etc 10,000
3 Training courses for the PT&TDC staff 50,000
4 Training course for the project staff 25,000
5 Preparation of Report 25,000
6 Contingencies 20,000
Sub total 1,70,000***
BUDGET SUMMARY
S.No Activity Amount
(Rs.)
1 Salaries & Wages 3,94,000
2 Permanent equipments 1,84,000
3 Expendables 40,000
4 Travel and Allowances 1,20000**
5 Other Project Cost 1,70,000
6 Insti tutional overheads (15 % of the total cost) 146400
Grand Total 10,54,400
* We would be able to mobi l ize addi t ional funds for subsequent phases
(monitoring and replicat ion to other s i tes in the UT & other s tates/UTs)
from other funding agencies such as
UGC, AICTE, MHRD, etc. f rom Govt of India as wel l as DFID, CIDA,
ADB, WTO, WB, etc. based on the progress made during the final phases of
the present project.
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** Ma y be red uced if we a re p ermi tte d to use PT&TDC tra nsp ort
vehicles/accommodation facilities free of cost for our outstation field visits
(Mahe, Yanam & Karailkal)
*** Amount of funding may be reduced also if we can are successful in
getting matching grants from ITDC, Central planning Commission or other
funding agencies such as DST, UGC, EU, World Bank, Asian Development
Bank, etc.
The above budget does not include training/capacity building for the major
private players in th e tourism in dustry (separate budget requirements have
to be worked out; probably, it could be sought as industry funding)
Table 3 BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
Budget Head JustificationsSPFs / RAs For supervision and synthesizing the
results
Field Technical Assistants For collecting and analyzing the data
Field Assistants For collecting air, soil and watersamples and as local surveyassistants for PRA
Travel allowance (Petrol bill for 2 wheeler) For visiting the destination areas/offices to collect data /samples
L ap to p N ot eb oo k w it h w ir el es s i nt er ne t
connectivity
For DBMS, networking, extension andtraining (1 each at PU & CTS for PI &COI)
Digital Camera For collecting /storing digital imagesof destination areas for training, EIAstudies
Audio recorders For recording/retrieval of keyinterviews
Field Binocular For observing, identifying & studyingthe wild life and for assessing theimpacts of tourism
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Computer CDs, Floppies For storing voluminous information
A4 Paper (Bond) For report preparation, publications
Miscellaneous expenses (incidentals) Incidental minor expenses such aspostage, Fax, Phone etc.
Xeroxing For Xeroxing relevant publications
Books & Journals For updating our knowledge
Project report preparation For submission
Project overheads (25% of the salary) To be handed over to our Universityas per our requirements as servicecharges
APPENDIX
A. Institutional Affiliation of the Project Investigators
Pondicherry Un iversity , establ ished in the year 1985 is of fering Post -
graduate, M.Phi l and Ph.D. programmes in f ronti er a reas of Art s andSciences. A new common sophisticated instrumentation center for detailed
analysis of soil , water and body t issues is being set up. Our l ibrary can
boast of th e best books and Journals on all available subjects. Ou r campus
has a faster Internet connectivity and campus Intranet for all Faculty.
De partme nt of Ecol ogy and Envi ronmental Scienc es of Pondicherry
Universi ty was established in the year 1987. The broad objectives of this
s trongly inter -d iscipl inary department inc lude t eaching, r esearch,
consul tancy and extens ion in key areas of basic and appl ied Ecology.
Besides, the local ecosystem s tudies , the department has been actively
engaged in doing research on bio-diversity and conservation issues in both
Western and Eastern Ghats, Gulf of Mannar Biosphere reserve, Integrated
watershed/coastal Zone management, Biomedical /Municipal solid waste
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management i ssues , sus tainable management of natural resources and
Ecosyst ems, sust ai nabl e t ou ri sm and Agr o- ecol ogy. The p ri nc ipal
investigator of the proposed project is associated with this department as a
reader. Recent ly , UGC has sanct ioned an innovat ive MA program on
Sus ta inab le Devel opment i n t he Uni ve rs it y, i n wh ich t he p ri nc ipal
investigator is one among the faculty involved. Thus, there is a possibility
for involving the students as well as the other faculty and Visiting faculty
of this program as well for the proposed project.
Centre for Touri sm Studies (CTS) of Pondicher ry Univers ity was
established in 1991 with the assistance from the Central government as a
nodal centre of excellence with a view to cater to the increasing demand for
trained manpower in tourism and al lied industries as well as to undertake
high end research in these fields. From its inception, CTS has been doing a
commendable work in the di rection of fulf il ling i ts exal ted mission. I t
offers an MBA as well as an MPhil program in tourism and its products are
wel l received by the academia and the industry. Throughout, CTS has
collaborated with the State administrat ion of tourism in matters l ike the
formulation i ts master plan, organization of various events and festivals
such as yoga festival and world tourism day celebrations. It is a member of
industry associations like IATO, TAAI, etc.
B. Bio-data of the Investigators
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