| Author | Mohanty, Bimalendu |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.UE-02-16 |
| Subject(s) | Ecotourism--India--Orissa
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Tourism has emerged as the largest global industry and reflects a rising trend. At the initial
growth stage, tourism activities have more beneficial impacts than detrimental effects. As
tourism activities continue to accelerate, its impacts on economic, socio-cultural and
environmental sectors become considerable. There emerges the need of adopting an
approach of Sustainable Tourism Development, which attempts to give more economic
benefits to the local people, preserve the local culture and traditions and protect the
environment from getting polluted by the growth of tourism activities. To achieve these,
the capacities of related human resources and institutions carry a significant role.
To verify the above theoretical concept and to analyze the human resource and institutional
capacity building initiatives, the 'Golden Triangle' in India is selected as the study area. It
is formed by the three vertex cities Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark, which has got a special
position in the tourist map of India due to its unique natural beauty, long and attractive
coastline, rich culture and heritage, ancient architecture and religious importance. In spite
of these potentials, maximum quantum of economic, socio-cultural and environmental
benefits could not be obtained from the Golden Triangle. The level of capabilities and
capacities of present human resources and institutions respectively are not sufficient to
meet tourism sustainability demand for which this research has been undertaken.
In this exploratory study, an attempt has been made to analyze the present human resource
capabilities and institutional capacities for promoting Sustainable Tourism in the study
area while looking into the environmental conditions of the tourist places and the shortfalls
in government plans and policies. The study's empirical content is primarily based on the
questionnaire surveys of the tourists and the local people. In addition, interviews were
conducted to get information from the government officials and other key stakeholders.
Secondary data were collected from the available literature and government publications.
The collected data are analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods using
analytical tool such as SPSS.
The survey findings indicate that both human resource-wise and institution-wise, the
existing capacities of different stakeholders are not sufficient to promote Sustainable
Tourism in the study area. It is found that the government officials lack motivation to
formulate tourism focused economic, socio-cultural and environmental policies. They lack
with their ability to motivate and empower the local people to get involved in tourism
related activities and the field level tourist officials do not have power to plan for the
benefit of local people. The local people participation in tourism activities is found to be
low. All the local residents do not have positive attitude towards the tourists and the
tourists are not aware of the local culture and traditions before reaching. The local people,
tourists and other stakeholders do not have environmental awareness. The institutions of
different government departments do not have good coordination among them. The local
governments Jack efficiency in maintaining cleanliness of the tourist places. The
government lacks its capacity to provide better infrastructure and services, promote
indigenous art and culture and provide safety to the tourists. To overcome these shortfalls,
several human resource and institutional capacity building related recommendations are
proposed for Sustainable Tourism Development in the study area. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Environmental and Management (UE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Amin, A. T. M. Nurul |
| Examination Committee(s) | Perera, L. A. S. Ranjith ;Shrestha, Surendra |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Netherlands |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003 |