tourism sector 7

7/29/2019 Tourism Sector 7

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CHAPTE R 7 : TOURISM SE CTOR

7.1 I ntroduction7.2 P ressures7.3 Status7.4 I mpact7.5 Response7.6 Suggestions

7. TOURISM SECTOR

7.1 Introduction

Tourism comprises of the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their

usual environment for leisure, recreation, holidays, business and other purposes. Tourism is

the largest and rapidly growing industry in the world and it is a fairly established and growing

industry in India, especially Rajasthan.

Though Rajasthan does not have snow-clad mountains, or vast stretches of sea beaches, it is

unique in many ways i.e. very rich in historical, cultural, architectural and natural heritage. In

the western half of the state there is a vast tract of hot sandy desert (Thar), which is the most

dynamic and living desert among the hot deserts of the world. Eastern half of the State is

replete with historical monuments amidst very rich biodiversity of semi-arid, tropical region.

Above all, people of Rajasthan are friendly and hospitable.

Rajasthan has tremendous potential of attracting foreign as well as domestic tourists;

accordingly plans are being made at Government level to give a quantum boost to this

industry.

Table 7.1:Top 15 States in Terms of Foreign & Domestic Touri st Markets (On the Basis of

Arri vals in 2000)

STATE / U.T. FOREIGN TOURISTS DOMESTIC TOURISTS

NUMBER RANK NUMBER RANK

Delhi 1274177 1 1728899 15

Maharashtra 1075169 2 8297158 7

Uttar Pradesh 855036 3 50296070 1

107STATE OF ENVIRONMENT REP ORT FOR RAJ ASTHAN : 2007


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Tamil Nadu 786165 4 22981882 3

Rajasthan 623100 5 7374391 8

Goa 291709 6 976804 16

Kerala 209933 7 5013221 10

Karnataka 208000 8 18000000 4

West Bengal 197061 9 4737112 11

Madhya Pradesh 123127 10 4684995 12

Himachal Pradesh 111191 11 4571129 13

Bihar 79445 12 9826213 6

Andhra Pradesh 78713 13 48038204 2

Gujarat 31748 14 11408281 5

J ammu & Kashmir 19400 17 5393463 9

Pondichery 23878 15 482189 20

Tourism is also regarded as an important industry for sustainable human development,

including poverty alleviation, employment generation, environmental regeneration and

development of remote areas, advancement of women, and to promote social integration and

international understanding, besides an important source of earning precious foreign

exchange.Tourism industry is also one of the least polluting industries. In view of all the

advantages tourism has to be given a very high priority, with continuous and regular

monitoring of its impact on overall environment by taking appropriate remedial measures.

One of the biggest constraints Rajasthan has is the acute shortage of water resources.Among other constraints are overcrowding of already established tourist centers due to

rapid population growth and lack of connectivity and other facilities for tourists. Therefore,

while planning a quantum boost in development of tourism industry, it must also be kept in

mind that there always is a stretching limit or carrying capacity for every thing, depending

on various crucial factors. It is extremely important that growth of tourism sector must be

compatible with overall environmental framework so as to be sustainable for long (in all

respects like - ecological, cultural, ethical, hygienic, basic necessities and expectations,

economic etc.).

7.2 Pressures

7.2.1 Trend of Touris t Arrivals in Rajasthan :-Fig 7.1 shows that there has been a

steady increase in tourist inflow of both foreign and domestic tourists to Rajasthan for last 15

years; the only exceptions have been when there was fear of cholera epidemic in Surat

(1994), or there was adverse impact of terrorism in Punjab, Kashmir, US (September 11,

2001), or elsewhere in the world.



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Fig 7.1: Tourist Arrival in Rajasthan

0

20

40

60

80

100120

140

160

180

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

NumberofTouristdaysinLakhs

FOREIGN DOMESTIC

Note The number of tourist arrivals indicate tourist days, and not actual number of persons, as these are based on

information, collected by tourism department, from hotels on the basis of occupancy of rooms by persons on eachday. These numbers also do not include those tourists who did not stay in any hotel.

The number of foreign tourists who visited Rajasthan (Table 7.2) in 1971 was only 0.425

lacks, which rose 4.94 lac in 1991, 6.08 lac in 2001 and 9.72 lac in 2004. During the last two

years, 2003 & 04, the Foreign Tourist Arrival has been increasing almost by 50%; where as

the Domestic Tourist Arrival is increasing by about 30%. Arrival of foreign tourists is of special

importance, for foreign exchange earning.

Table 7.2: Foreign Tourist Arri val in India & Rajasthan

YearNo. of Foreign TouristVisiting India

No. of Foreign TouristVisiting Rajasthan

Percentage

1991 16,77,508 4,94,150 29.45

1992 18,67,651 5,47,802 29.33

1993 17,64,830 5,40,738 30.64

1994 18,86,433 4,36,801 23.15

1995 21,23,683 5,34,749 25.18

1996 22,87,860 5,60,946 24.51

1997 23,76,250 6,05,060 25.46

1998 23,58,629 5,91,369 25.07

1999 24,81,928 5,62,685 22.67

2000 26,49,378 6,23,100 23.52

Thus Rajasthan attracts about 25% of foreign tourists coming to India, and ranks 5th

in the

country in this respect. At present, Indian tourism claims less than 0.4 % of total world

tourism, which can be enhanced considerably by proper and sustainable developmental

planning. The growth rate in India presently is about 15%, highest in the world, and now GOI

is planning to get 15 million foreign tourists by 2010 as against about 4 million at present.

Thus in next 5 years the inflow of foreign tourists in Rajasthan is likely to increase by

more than 4 times at the present rate. With the increase in tourist inflow, availability of hotel

accommodation is also rapidly increasing, which makes Rajasthan a favoured destination.



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7.2.2 Availability of Hotels & Accommodations: - Availability of Hotels &

Accommodations in Rajasthan (as on 31.3.04) is given in Table 7.3.

Table 7.3: Availability of Hotels & Accommodations in Rajasthan

Hotels andDharmshalas

Paying Guest Houses TotalPlace

Numbers Rooms Numbers Rooms Numbers Rooms

J aipur 287 8221 130 476 417 8697Udaipur 186 3814 61 305 247 4119

J odhpur 79 2589 46 183 125 2772Mt. ABU 107 2445 25 111 132 2556Ajmer 113 2144 4 18 117 2162

J aisalmer 125 1863 5 15 130 1878Bikaner 62 1434 20 67 82 1501Pushkar 94 1257 - - 94 1257Kota 27 710 - - 27 710

J hunjhunu 30 634 - - 30 634Alwar 32 606 2 5 34 611

S.Madhopur 33 567 - - 33 567J halawar 14 536 - - 14 536Chittorgarh 26 528 2 6 28 534Bharatpur 30 456 17 72 47 528Banswara 22 377 - - 22 377Nagaur 23 312 - - 23 312Sikar 17 275 - - 17 275Bundi 13 162 13 48 26 211Others 52 837 - - 52 837Total 1372 29667 325 1306 1697 30973

7.2.3 Pressure on Transportation (Road, Rail) Infrastructure:-Though increase in

tourist arrivals in the State does cause extra pressure on road, rail and air transportationinfrastructure; but it is a fact that much more pressure is being caused by very rapid increase

in population growth and the number of vehicles being acquired by local people.Construction

of new roads and rails, or widening of existing ones puts pressure on land and other natural

resources.

Table 7.4: Mode of Travel Used by Tourists for Reaching Rajasthan - Survey in 2000 (In %)

Tourists Air Train Road

Foreign Tourists 82 11 7

Domestic Tourists 5 52 43

Total Tour ists 27.86 39.71 32.43

Fig 7.2: The Land Requirement WouldImpact the Sensitive Ecosystems.

7.2.4 Pressure on Land and

Accommodation:-The most crucial component

for tourism is providing suitable accommodation for

various categories of tourists. Rajasthan has an

estimated tourist accommodation of 24000 rooms in

about 900 Hotels during 2000 and 30973 rooms in

1697 hotels during 2004, which needs to be



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increased three times by 2010 to meet the expected demand. This increase will have to be

mainly in private sector, with emphasis on eco-friendly constructions of indigenous

architecture, use of solar energy and water harvesting. This will put considerable pressure on

land requirement, which ultimately have impact on the ecosystem of the respective areas.

7.2.5 Pressure on Civic Facilit ies:-Increasing tourism puts additional pressure on two

main civic facilities i.e water and electricity. Consumption of both water and electricity is

considerably higher for tourism sector. High profile tourists and starred hotels consume about

5 times more water than being used by a common man. Measures for recharging

groundwater and water conservation strategies need to be implemented. There is also acute

shortage of electric supply resulting in frequent power cuts which act as terrible irritant to

tourists whose main purpose of visit is to have hassle-free enjoyable trip. Due to

overcrowding of most towns and cities the general state of cleanliness and public sanitary

facilities are already far from satisfactory. The additional inflow of tourists puts extra pressure

on the facilities but their expectations of high standard of cleanliness, and comforts, needs to

be kept in mind while planning for infrastructure development especially in tourist

destinations.

7.2.6 Pressure on Wildl ife and Forest: - There

has been a rising trend in tourist arrivals in National

Parks and Sanctuaries. Some experts feel that at

Ranthambhore the number of vehicles and touristsplying through the Sanctuary may soon go beyond

assumed carrying capacity. It causes disturbance to

wildlife in their regular breeding and feeding activity,

which is harmful from conservation and sustainability

point of view.

Fig 7.3: Tourism is Threateningthe Wildlife

i. Direct: All the tourists visiting Protected Areas and natural forests cause

following negative impacts on the eco-system disturbance to wild animals due

to noise of vehicles, noise caused by tourists. Feeding and breeding of wild

animals is adversely affected which is very harmful for their sustainability. There

is also a risk of transmission of disease viruses and pathogens.

ii. Indirect: Excessive tourism in the centers situated close to forest areas has

indirect adverse impacts on adjoining forest areas due to illegal cutting of trees to

meet fuel-wood demand, illegal mining to meet construction requirement and

even encroachment and diversion of forest lands.

Table 7.5 shows the trend of tourist arrivals in important Protected areas of Rajasthan.



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Table 7.5: Number of Tourists Arri val in Major Protected Areas of Rajasthan

ProtectedArea

1997-98

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

Approx. %of ForeignTourists.

Keoladeo N.P. Bharatpur

104807 118505 114706 12460 115599 83604 110929 35

Ranthambhore N.P. 37022 43714 55999 73528 73299 70807 93886 40

Sariska T.R. 63962 96024 54987 43685 37057 41105 43125 20Mount Abu S. 12171 13014 13065 2731 17142 16618 19566 0.5KumbhalgarhS.

NA NA 816 1345 1135 1197 1737 40

Sajjangarh S NA NA 12909 27329 25565 28928 45760 5DNP,

J aisalmer118 77 1061 NA NA NA 983 2

Above figures do not include very large number of religious domestic tourists who go to Ganesh Temple in

Ranthambhore NP, Hanuman temple in Sariska TR, Ranakpur and Rishabhdev Temples in Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary.

It also does not include over 10 lac tourists visiting Mt. Abu every year.

This pressure can be eased if more number and variety of tourist attractions are developed

around each protected area. Dispersal of tourists on a large number of nature trails and

developing alternatives in neighborhood will ease the pressure and disturbance. A large

proportion of field staff gets committed to take care of tourism in PAs, which adversely affects

the protection and sustainability of biodiversity.

7.3 State

7.3.1 Status of Important Tourist Places, Statistics:- Attractive and potential tourist

sites are spread over the entire State, however, due to various reasons main pressure is on

J aipur, Udaipur, J odhpur, Ajmer, Mt. Abu & J aisalmer as seen in Table 7.6.

Table 7.6: Foreign Tourists Arrival at Major Tourist Centers of Rajasthan in Lacs

Year Jaipur Udaipur Jodhpur Ajmer Jaisalmer Mt. Abu Total

1991 1.55 0.73 0.64 0.11 0.43 0.22 3.681992 1.71 0.80 0.70 0.15 0.50 0.23 4.091993 1.46 0.85 0.62 0.10 0.45 0.24 3.72

1994 1.11 0.73 0.57 0.46 0.43 0.10 3.401995 1.50 0.86 0.50 0.48 0.48 0.11 3.931996 1.48 0.83 0.48 0.56 0.49 0.13 3.971997 1.84 0.84 0.49 0.60 0.57 0.16 4.501998 1.50 0.78 0.49 0.49 0.53 0.14 3.931999 1.29 0.79 0.48 0.45 0.50 0.13 3.642000 1.55 0.77 0.68 0.51 0.51 0.14 4.162001 1.73 0.57 0.70 0.54 0.47 0.14 4.152002 0.81 1.01 0.38 0.51 0.26 0.08 3.052003 1.05 1.57 0.65 0.05 0.51 0.09 3.922004 2.06 1.98 1.00 0.11 0.81 0.11 6.07

Out of the total number of foreign tourists coming to Rajasthan, J aipur alone gets 24.8 % and

J aipur, Udaipur, J odhpur, Pushkar, Ajmer, J aisalmer, J hunjhunu, Bikaner, Ranakpur and

Mount Abu combined get 87 % of the total foreign tourists visiting Rajasthan. The remaining



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areas of Rajasthan get only 13 % foreign tourists. Therefore, there is need to develop foreign

tourism market in these remaining areas and other potential sites.

Table 7.7: Domestic Tourists Arri val at Major Tour ist Centers of Rajasthan Lacs

Year Jaipur Udaipur Jodhpur Ajmer Jaisalmer Mt. Abu Total

1991 4.73 5.86 4.65 4.65 2.02 6.69 28.601992 7.21 6.75 5.32 5.37 2.26 9.23 36.741993 6.23 6.88 5.28 4.79 2.54 9.66 35.381994 6.68 6.45 4.62 4.24 0.76 9.06 31.811995 6.63 6.46 4.40 5.01 0.85 11.40 34.751996 6.60 6.21 4.18 5.27 0.80 11.24 34.301997 7.00 6.39 4.28 4.93 0.69 13.92 37.211998 6.16 5.75 3.65 7.84 0.53 10.56 34.491999 6.13 5.79 3.53 7.66 0.35 13.38 36.832000 7.45 7.35 3.71 10.88 0.59 12.55 42.532001 6.56 6.63 3.83 12.69 1.03 12.83 43.57

2002 5.89 4.71 3.36 13.34 0.97 10.73 39.002003 6.40 4.40 4.03 9.70 1.33 13.03 36.89

2004 9.68 4.61 4.69 11.25 1.82 14.68 46.73

Out of the total number of domestic tourists visiting Rajasthan, Mount Abu alone gets 17 %,

and Mount Abu, Ajmer, Pushkar, J aipur, Udaipur, Nathdwara, J odhpur, Bikaner, Chittaurgarh

and Bharatpur combined get 80% of the domestic tourists visiting Rajasthan. Remaining 20 %

domestic tourists visit rest of the places in Rajasthan. Hence there is a need to enhance

domestic tourism market in the remaining areas.

Fig 7.4: Sonar Fort, Jaisalmer

Palaces City Palace, J aipur, Amer Palace, Lalgarh Palace Bikaner, City Palace Udaipur,

Umaid Bhavan Palace J odhpur, Kota Fort and Palace.

Fig 7.5: Palaces of Interest in Rajasthan



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7.3.2 Classification of Tourist Places:-Classification of foreign tourists visiting India

according to purpose of visit (in year 2000) on the basis of a survey (which will hold good for

Rajasthan also ) is given in Table 7.8.

Table 7.8: Classification of Foreign Tourists

Region Holiday &Sight Seeing

Business Conference Study Others Total

N. America 374474 10777 515 1686 20339 407741C. & S. America 36946 1746 76 224 1608 40600W. Europe 746069 32653 624 787 30006 810139E. Europe 52043 4424 69 257 255 57048Africa 127686 8670 101 455 6859 143771West Asia 98226 7697 85 757 22230 128995South Asia 169956 868 131 35 4360 175350S. E. Asia 137353 6010 335 482 2986 147166E. Asia 110654 9072 120 275 7704 127825Australasia 101280 6346 206 381 6078 114291

Total 1972080 105493 2153 4306 68894 2152926

The survey has revealed that about 91.6 % foreign tourists visit India for Holidaying and

Sight- Seeing, about 4.9% for Business and the rest for other purposes like conferences,

study etc. It must be kept in mind that about 30 % of tourists of the first category (holidaying

and sight-seeing) can easily be diverted to so far less visited sights provided proper

attractions, transportation, accommodations and other facilities are developed, e.g., in Desert

Rural Areas, Shekhawati and Haroti Area.

The findings of the survey related to tourism preferences and categories of tourists visitingRajasthan is given in Fig 7.6 and Table 7.9 respectively.

Fig 7.6: Type of Places Tourist s Like to See in Rajasthan (Survey: 2000)

20.5 17 1826

14 17.4316

5 8.145.5

56

41.57

114 6

21

48.86

100 100 100

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Foreign Domestic Total

Type of Tourist

Percenta

ge

Cultural Attractions Historical Monuments /Forts Wildlife and NatureP ilgrim Centres Adventure Tourism Others

Total



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Table 7.9: Categories of Tourists Visiti ng Rajasthan

Category Main Interest Subsid iaryInterest

Main PlacesVisited

Pressures OnEnvironment

Domestic

Religious Visiting temples

etc.

Seeing historical

monuments,shopping

Pushkar, Ajmer

Dargah,Nathdwara,Ramdeora, Ganeshtemple,Ranthambhore,Ranakpur, Dilwara-Abu etc.

Air Pollution,

Litter, Noise anddisturbance inPAs. Fuel woodfrom forests

LTC availers HistoricalMonuments, Sight-seeing,

Religious places,shopping

J aipur, Udaipur,J odhpur,Chittorgarh, Ajmer

Air Pollution,Litter, Waterwaste

Businessmen Sight-seeing,Recreation,

Visiting PAs,shopping,religious places

J aipur, Udaipur, Mt.Abu, J odhpur,Sariska, RNP,KNP, Jaisalmer

Air Pollution,Litter, Waterwaste

ForeignHoliday andSight-seeing

HistoricalMonuments,Cultural & Heritagesites

Natural Heritagesites, shopping,Recreation

J aipur, Udaipur,Bharatpur,

J odhpur, J aisalmer,Pushkar, RNP

Air Pollution,Water waste

Others Natural HeritageSites, Recreation

HistoricalMonuments,Cultural Heritage,Shopping

Bharatpur, RNP,Sariska,Kumbhalgarh,

J aipur, J odhpur,Udaipur

Air Pollution,Water waste

There was a provision of Rs.50.56 crore in the 8th Plan and Rs. Rs.147.5 crore for the 10th

Five Year Plan. In view of its importance as foreign exchange earner and providing

employment opportunities, the budget for 2005-06 is kept as Rs.24.5 cr. The important

activities proposed are :-

1. Tourism Promotional activities (Tourist Information and Publicity). Rajasthan Calling

and Road Shows in various states; organizing Fairs, festivals and Cultural events,

providing a limited subsidy to Hotel industry; Beautification of important monuments,

eg, Albert Hall, Amer, Nahargarh, Sajjangarh and J aisalmer Forts, Bundi, chittorgarh,

Pushkar etc.

2. Development of Tourist Sites (Rs. 696.5 lac).- J almahal, ropeway at at Udaipur, Golf

Resort, Tijara Fort Alwar, Spiritual tourism development - Dargah-Ajmer, Nathdwara,

Shree Mahavirji, Ranakpur, Ramdeora.

7.4 Impact

7.4.1 Impact on Water Environment:-Rapid increase in number of tourists is bound to

have some adverse impact on our environment, especially in respect of already scarce water

resource and air pollution. Yet, it is also true that adverse impact on both of these due to



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additional tourist inflow would be much less than due to other factors e.g. increasing

population and number of vehicles, industrialization, etc. The groundwater table is falling at an

alarming rate in Jaipur, Udaipur, J odhpur, Ajmer etc. Rajasthan is extremely short of water

and additional demand from tourism, which is water-intensive, will be additional pressure on

this scarce and precious resource. It will hit hard especially at existing large urban touristcenters like Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer, J odhpur, Bikaner which are already facing severe water-

shortage and whatever ground water is available is not going to last long even at present level

of usage.

7.4.2 Impact on Civic Activities:-

a. Pressure on Land

Providing various tourist facilities invariably cause pressure on land, e.g. use of extra land

for accommodation and other infra-structure, including road and rail network, aerodromes.

Building materials are often extracted from ecosystem, mostly from forests. Conversion of

such extra land invariably hits three very important sectors agriculture, dairy and

forests.

b. Sewage Generation and Disposal.

Sewage planning of main tourist centers of Rajasthan is already grossly inadequate. The

situation has worsened due to rapid growth of population and expansion of these cities.

Increasing tourism will certainly enhance the pressure on the existing systems.

c. Municipal Solid Waste Garbage Disposal.

Increase in tourist inflow will add considerable amount of solid waste, especially polybags

garbage, etcrequiring more systematic disposal and awareness about necessity of

category-wise segregation of garbage.

d. Road Transport.

As seen above, about 33% tourists arrive in Rajasthan by road, traveling within Rajasthan

is even more by road, and within the cities it is totally by road. The situation of traffic is

already pathetic which is going to be even worse in future. NHDP (National Highway

Development Programme) for widening, improvement and construction of 14000 km of

roads in the country will boost tourism in Rajasthan also. More train, metros and adequate

availability of buses will be helpful in reducing pollution as well as irritation of

overcrowding and traffic jams.

e. Impact on Public Facilit ies.

Boost in tourism will also have extra pressure on other public facilities like medical,

sanitation, communication etc.



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f. Socio Economic Impact.

The impacts arise when tourism brings about changes in value systems, behaviour and

threatens indigenous identity. Changes often occur in community structure, family

relationship, collective traditional life style, ceremonies and morality. Main negative

impacts on social and cultural environment are Loss of authenticity, adoption of touristsbehaviour pattern or Irritation due to tourist behaviour, Culture clashes, cultural erosion

and disruption of traditional lifestyle. It also has some negative economic impacts as only

a few get bulk of the financial benefits, and majority of the community are only marginally

benefited.Any subsidy or favours extended to some private entrepreneurs for high cost

infrastructures of tourism development is at the cost of more important activities of mass

benefit. Influx of people from rural to urban areas causes social degradation, uncertainties

of seasonal variations in income.There are also some possibilities of smuggling and anti-

national activities.

g. Impact on Environment, Wildlife & Forest.

To cope up with the growth in tourism industry large scaleconstructions of roads, resorts,

hotels, shops etc. is being taken up which causes adverse impacts like degradation of

forests, soil erosion, fragmentation of wildlife habitats, encroachments, accidents etc. Also

excessive vehicular traffic, more than carrying capacity of the Protected Area, and noisy

conduct of tourists cause terrible disturbance to wildlife, especially in their breeding and

feeding activity. It also results in pollution, fire hazards, trampling of new regeneration etc.

within the protected area. The field staff gets deviated to the responsibilities of tourism

management instead of protection duties. At times pathogens and exotic species also get

introduced.

7.5 Response

7.5.1 Government Policy Regarding Tourism:-

Tourism Policy of Rajasthan 2001:Looking at the importance of tourism development in

accelerating the economic growth in the state, government of Rajasthan formulated and

approved Tourism Policy of Rajasthan 2001. It is being revised to boost tourism development

by extending more facilities to private entrepreneurs. Its objectives include:

Optimum utilization of rich tourist resources of the State in order to attract the

maximum number of domestic and foreign tourists. (It has to be on a long term

sustainable basis).

Development of the tourism industry to increase employment opportunities, especially

in rural areas for unemployed rural youth;

To develop a ready market for the rich and varied handicrafts and cottage industriesof Rajasthan; and ensure welfare of artisans / artistes;



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Preservation of rich natural, historical, architectural and cultural heritage of

Rajasthan; special emphasis on conservation of historical monuments in Rajasthan;

To facilitate the growth of tourism in the State and to further involve the private sector

in the development of tourism in Rajasthan;

To promote inter cultural understanding through religious / pilgrim tourism and fairsand festivals;

To promote socio-economic development of Rajasthan through tourism with special

thrust on backward areas.

To make tourism a Peoples Industry in the state;

To minimize negative impacts of tourism (on environment as well as social and

cultural environment) and promote sustainable tourism.

To open new vistas in tourism like Adventure tourism, Eco-tourism, Spiritual Tourism,

Camel/Horse safaris, River and Canal cruise, Houseboats in Rajasthan (Palace on

Waves), Educational Tourism, Caravan Tourism, Health tourism, Rural Tourism, Film

Tourism etc.

General tourists who come with the main objective of holidaying and sightseeing are quite

likely to be attracted by new avenues being planned in smaller and rural places by integrating

a variety of subjects like rural cultural heritage, lesser known or popular monuments, local

fauna and flora, local handicrafts, folk music, trekking, horse and camel safaris combined with

bird-watching en route, especially on ponds, lakes etc. This will reduce the pressure on roads,

water, air, land and various civic facilities.

7.5.2 Eco-tourism: Policy & Guidelines, 2002:- Eco-tourism is ecologically

sustainable nature-tourism, involving the indigenous stakeholders, for improving their living

standards, while forging partnership with the existing tourism industry. The World Tourism

Organization (WTO) defines eco-tourism as tourism that involves traveling to relatively

undisturbed natural areas (National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Forests) with the specified

object of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well

as any existing cultural aspects (both of the past or the present) found in and around these

areas. It facilitates public access to Protected Areas to increase environmental awareness

and improve public support for conservation programmes. It requires lesser infrastructure

development and a lower impact on the environment. In view of fast increasing Eco-tourism,

and necessity of avoiding its negative impact on the environment MOEF, GOI, framed Eco-

tourism Policy and Guidelines, 2002. Following cardinal principles have been outlined for the

development of Eco-tourism:

1. It should involve the local community and lead to the overall economic development of

the area

2. It should identify the likely conflicts between resource use for tourism and the livelihood

of local inhabitants and attempt to minimize such conflicts



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3. The type and scale of tourism development should be compatible with the environment

and socio-cultural characteristics of the local community and it should be planned as a

part of the overall area development strategy, guided by an integrated land-use plan

while avoiding inter-sectoral conflicts and ensuring sectoral integration, associated with

commensurate expansion of public services.4. The first benefit of eco-tourism must go to the local people (host-community), and in the

long run the capacity building in this regard should be built-in for forging partnership with

the local people.

5. The development should be sensitive to the conservation of fauna and flora, the corridor

value of the area, apart from respecting the religious and historic sites in the area.

The eco-tourism package should invariably include:

a. Simple, adequate boarding & lodging facilities, in tune with the environment & the

general setting of the landscape, using local material & design as far as possible and

avoiding over construction. The tourist facilities should use eco-friendly techniques viz.,

solar energy, recycling of garbage, harvesting of rain water, natural cross-ventilation

instead of AC, self-sufficiency in food through kitchen garden & farming.

b. Road and track network within the identified tourism zone.

c. Transportation options, preference to trekking, cycling, horses etc. over motorised

vehicles.

d. Self guided Nature trails, Wayside exhibits and Signages, Observation towers.

e. Interpretation Centers, Brochures, leaflets, audio-visuals, films, guide service, Public

conveniences,

f. Garbage disposal facility, Living quarters for staff / personnel.

g. Site-specific microplanning for community based eco-tourism should be resorted to.

h. Environmental, physical & social carrying capacities to limit the various developmental

activities in the fringe area to be identified for eco-tourism.

i. Devise mechanism to ensure continuous monitoring of adverse impacts of tourism for

quick remedial measures

j. Control of noise pollution, chemical pollution and air emissions

k. Respecting the historic & religious sites in the area Respecting local inhabitants, culture

& involving them in various activities & vocations as far as possible

l. Should be ecologically, socially, culturally and economically sustainable.

m. Should have participation of the local stake-holders.

n. Should be capable of dove-tailing in the existing tourism of the State.

o. Interpretation is an indispensable tool for achieving the goals of eco-tourism. In the past,

tour guides were usually untrained, but guide training is now common in most developed

countries. Tour guide training is an adult education activity, but much training is

competency-based with an emphasis on knowledge transmission and skill acquisition.

One of the essential elements of interpretation is provision of a very good Interpretation



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Center, where the tourists can have an overview of the site being visited. It is essential

that big Eco-tourism sites have Interpretation Centers and well trained interpreters.

From both the policies it is obvious that proper thought has been given to the likely

Environmental Impacts of tourism development and necessary precautionary measures have,by and large, been provided in both the policies. Now it has to be ensured that all these

precautions are taken while various developmental activities are actually taken up for

boosting tourism in the State. Following actions have already been taken by various

concerned departments of the government-

Hotels are installing Air / Water polluting Control Systems.

Special priority is being given to units in tourism sector for allotment of gas (LPG)

connection, power connection, water connection and sewerage connection.

Tourism sector units are being encouraged to install sources of non-conventional

energy like Solar Heaters and Wind Mills.

As a special drive hotels and other large buildings and campuses are undertaking

construction of water-harvesting structures to conserve rain water.

To reduce negative impact of increasing tourism in Mt. Abu, Government of

Rajasthan is planning to notifiy certain areas of Mt. Abu as eco-sensitive zone.

Similarly a distance of 500m around Ranthmbhore forests has also been declared as

ecosensitive and constructions of hotels etc. have been banned. Similar action is

anticipated for some of other PAs of the state.

Green city scheme for hotels has been started for their garbage disposal.

No polluting motorized vehicles are allowed in Keoladeo National Park for tourism

purpose, only cycle rikshaws and cycles or trekking is permitted, two electra-vans are

being used for tourists. To minimize pollution, only petrol-gypsies and canters of large

seating capacity are allowed in Ranthambhore National Park. Horse safaris are being

encouraged in Kumbhalgarh and Sajjangarh sanctuaries.

Nature trails are being created in various sanctuaries and forest areas where tourists

will be able to walk or go on horseback to enjoy and experience nature. These will act

as new attractions and will reduce pressure on crowded tourism centers.

Rajasthan has been a pioneer state in launching Heritage hotels in the country by

converting old palaces and havelies of erstwhile rulers in to tourist accommodations,

which has been extremely popular with tourists, especially foreign tourists. This also

reduces pressure on land, construction material and environment in addition to proper

maintenance of precious historical heritage. At present there are over 100 Heritage

Hotels operating in Rajasthan providing about 3000 rooms for tourists.

The Scheme of paying guest has been very popular with Domestic and Foreign

Tourists. This scheme is in operation in 11 cities of Rajasthan. The scope of this

scheme would be further enlarged. It reduces pressure on land, construction material



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and environment, besides providing additional employment to a large number of

people. Care would be taken to ensure that only such houses and families are

registered with the Department of Tourism who will serve the purpose and will provide

adequate and suitable facilities to the tourists.

Camp Tourism/ Eco-Friendly Nature Tourism, a new scheme for allotment of campingsites, which is already very popular in places like Pushkar, Desert Festival

(J aisalmer), Nagaur Cattle Fair and J halawar Festival, would be further extended to

new tourist places to cater to the needs of budget tourists, in peak season. It will

reduce pressure on land etc at crowded tourist centers.

Wayside Facilities at appropriate places are being created in order to provide

commuting tourists an opportunity to relax and refresh themselves. Such facilities will

now be mainly in private sector. It will reduce the pressure on precious water on

already crowded and water deficit places.

Development of Nazool Properties of Heritage Value is being undertaken. There are

a large numbers of historical buildings, Fortresses etc. spread all over which are not

protected by Department of Archaeology and Museums or Archaeological Survey of

India and which are owned by the State government. These properties would be

transferred to Department of Tourism for developing them into heritage hotels/ tourist

museums/ tourist complexes/ tourist resorts in collaboration with private

entrepreneurs. It will reduce pressure on crowded centers, on land, construction

material and environment and water.

Travel facilities are also extremely important for tourism sector. Availability of fast,

punctual, adequate and comfortable travel facilities will contribute considerably in

boosting the tourism development in the state. Up-gradation of Airports, broad

gauging of rails, broadening and up-gradation of roads is being undertaken on large

scale which is more eco-friendly, similarly construction of ring roads, metros,

availability of adequate tourist buses, instead of car taxis and auto rikshaws, within

cities will reduce pollution. Broad gauge Palace On Wheels has already been

launched in the year 1996-97 and it has proved to be extremely popular with

International tourists and NRIS. Efforts would be made to launch an economy version

of luxurious Palace On Wheels for budget tourists.

The State will encourage air taxi service and Helicopter service by air taxi operators

within the State so the tourists visiting the state can see as many places as possible

within the available time. There are large number of airstrips and helipads available

all over the state. Their up-gradation is already on the anvil.

Due to phenomenal growth of tourism, it has become essential to guard against

exploitation and cheating of the tourists. A separate Tourist Police contingent is being

constituted.

Special studies would be conducted by Department of Tourism to assess the carrying

capacity of popular tourist places. Efforts would be made to regulate the tourist traffic



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in these places and also to ensure that no cultural or ecological pollution takes place

because of unregulated growth of tourism industry.

Misuse and vulgarization of rich folk music of the state by commercial cinema would

not be allowed; part of the earnings of such commercial use of folk music of

Rajasthan would be earmarked for the welfare of folk artistes of the state.

STATE OF ENVIRONMENT REP ORT FOR RAJ ASTHAN : 2007

tourism sector 7

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