International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science

IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

Promoting Inclusive Growth for Tourism Development in the

State of Himachal Pradesh

Dr. (Sr.) Beena, T.L

Department of Economics, St. Bede’s College, Shimla

Abstract: Ecotourism enters in the new millennium with the prospects of continued expression and greater importance in
Himachal economy. Eco-tourism in other words incorporates both a strong commitment to nature and a sense of social
responsibility. Fortunately the sense of responsibility eco-tourism has adopted in the last decade has become a growing
force for responsible tourism and conservation. The significance of ecotourism has been recognized as beneficial agent
of social development. The main focus of the study is to examine the link between Eco tourism promotion and importance
of natural heritage in Himachal Pradesh and growth potential of tourism in Himachal Pradesh.
Key words: Heritage, Tourist, Economy, Environment

Introduction
Basically Eco-tourism is derived from two words - 'Ecosystem' & 'Tourism'. Ecosystem is the system in which
we live - the system which include the earth, the water, the sky and of course the living and the non-living
objects in all these systems. It is a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and
their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit. Ecotourism implies many things as it
encompasses important tenets like sustainability, conservation, carrying capacity and so on. Ecotourism is one
of the popular tourism products at present and is growing by leaps and bounds. The genesis of the term
'Ecotourism' may be traced to 1950 and evolved over the years as an important tourism product. Eco-tourism
is more than a catch phrase for nature loving travel and recreation and is consecrated for preserving and
sustaining the world's natural and cultural environments. It accommodates and entertains visitors in a way that
is minimally intrusive or destructive to the environment. Eco-tourism endeavors to encourage the diversity of
local economies for which the tourist related income is important. Eco-tourism is entirely a new approach in
tourism. Ecotourism is a pursuing travel to natural areas to appreciate the cultural and natural history of the
environment, taking care not to disturb the integrity of the ecosystem, while creating economic opportunities
that make conservation and protection of natural resources advantageous to the local people. In short,
ecotourism can be categorized as tourism programme that is nature based, ecologically sustainable, where
education and interpretation is a major constituent and where local people are benefited.”All this together can
be called ecotourism. If a travel does not satisfy any one of these constituents, then it is not called a real
ecotourism venture.

Fennel (1970) studied many ecological zones and ecotourists at the Trans-Canada Highway. Although the
origin of the term ecotourism is not entirely clear, but one of the first to use the term is Hetzer (1965), who
identified four pillars or principles of responsible tourism:
 Minimizing Environmental impacts
 Respecting Host Cultures
 Maximizing the benefits for local people
 Maximizing Tourist Satisfaction

138 Dr. (Sr.) Beena, T.L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

There are mixed views on ecotourism in spite of its strength, given the natural endowment and the political
will to convert many places of scenic beauty into ecotourism. However, Ceballos Lascurian (1987) coined the
definition of Ecotourism as ‘travelling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the
specific objective of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as
any existing cultural manifestation (both past and present) found in these areas’ is also ecotourism,
International Ecotourism Society defined ecotourism as responsible travel to the
natural areas involving improvements to wellbeing of the local community.

Objectives
The Present paper has been construed with the following objectives:
 To study social development of Himachal Pradesh through Tourism Industry
 To examine the role of tourism in GDP

Need and Scope

The tourism industry has developed tremendously in Himachal Pradesh over the last few decades. Its
multifarious benefits, the magnitude of impacts and its future growth prospectus have all together, made the
tourism in Himachal Pradesh a subject matter of research. Eco-tourism adds social responsibilities to travel
and makes attempt to increase understanding of cultural and natural history of the environment. It is their duty
to protect the environment from destruction and preserve them for future generations. Responsible travel to
natural areas sustains the well being of local people. Ecotourism has been considered eco-savior. It provides
the opportunity for self discovery growth and making a difference. The pinpointed objectives of the study are;
to identify the main purpose of travel of the tourists in Himachal Pradesh and to study the growth of tourism
industry in Himachal Pradesh.

Results and Discussion

Development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of the people is one of the major
concerns of economics today and Himachal Pradesh is gradually positioning itself as one of the most preferred
destination. Himachal Pradesh is enriched with scenic beauty so it is also known as Dev Bhumi and in order to
promote eco-tourism in the state, a significant achievement is the declaration of new tourism policy 2000
where the main thrust of the policy is to involve the private entrepreneurs in the development of various types
of Tourism in the state. Major strength of tourism in Himachal Pradesh is its culture and heritage sites.

Social Development of Himachal Pradesh Through Tourism Industry

Tourism in Himachal Pradesh has a strong relevance to economic, social and political development and
national integration. Organized tourism in Himachal Pradesh began too early with the genesis of planned
development. Over the years, tourism has grown considerably in Himachal Pradesh as is indicated by the
arrival of foreign tourists which shows that the number of tourist visiting Himachal Pradesh has increased
substantially after the beginning of the planned era which proves that Himachal tourism has become popular
among the domestic tourists as well as foreign tourists.

The tourist arrival has increased from 2004 to 2009. However a marginal decline has been observed thereafter.
This is a serious trend and must be checked at all costs. Strenuous efforts are required to encourage the inflow
of foreign tourists so that precious foreign exchange can be earned. With the successful launch of very
penetrative ad campaign Incredible India there seems to be revival of increasing trend in the tourist arrival.

139 Dr. (Sr.) Beena, T.L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

Table 1: Number of Foreign and Domestic Tourists to Himachal Pradesh

Year Foreign Tourist Indian Tourist

2004 204344 6345069

2005 207790 6927742

2006 281569 7671902

2007 339409 8481988

2008 376736 9372697

2009 400583 11036572

2010(TILLJUNE) 201300 7673065

Source: Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India; for 2009 & 2010

Purpose of the Visit

According to the survey 53.25% were interested in ecotourism in Himachal Pradesh, especially in
Dharamshala, Shimla, Manali, Dalhousie etc. Only 5.50% had other reasons to visit Himachal Pradesh, It is
clearly evident from the table-5 that nearly 92% of the tourists visited Himachal Pradesh for its scenic beauty,
peaceful and pleasant weather condition.
Table 2: Purpose of the Visit

Category Ecotourism Sightseeing Tourism Others Total

Domestic Tourist 82.80% 0.00% 5.38% 11.83% 100.00%

Foreign Tourist 100.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%

Local Residents 0.00% 100.00% 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%

Officials of Tourist
Departments 25.61% 74.39% 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%

Tourism Service Providers 20.37% 79.63% 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%

Source: Primary Study

140 Dr. (Sr.) Beena, T.L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

Among the eco-tourists all the foreign tourists were more interested in ecotourism followed by the domestic
tourists (82.80%). Local residents were all interested in sightseeing (100%), none were interested in
ecotourism. Among the officials the majority were interested in Ecotourism.

Frequency of Tourists
The table revealed that out of the tourists under study 68% visited Himachal Pradesh for the first time
whereas, 26% tourists twice followed by 6.00% tourists who came here for the third time. It has been found
that majority of the tourists were not sufficiently aware of the importance of ecotourism. There is a great need
to make them aware of the impact of ecotourism on the environment, economy, etc.

Table 3: Frequency of Tourist

Category Once Twice Thrice Total

Domestic tourist 74.19% 12.90% 12.90% 100.00%

Foreign tourist 100.00% 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%

Local residents 0.00% 100.00% 0.00% 100.00%

Officials of tourist Development Departments 64.63% 35.37% 0.00% 100.00%

Tourism service providers 100.00% 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%

Grand Total 68.00% 26.00% 6.00% 100.00%

Source: Primary Study

Employment Opportunities in Tourism and Role in GDP

The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest and dynamic industries in today's global economy. It is
expected to generate about 9 percent of total GDP in 2010 and provide more than 235 million jobs in 2010,
representing 8 percent of global employment. In addition, the tourism industry provides indirect employment
to about 40 million persons and employment generation in proportion to investment is also very high in
tourism industry. Tourism industry also encouraging women empowerment as women are greater in number
than men in hotels, airlines services, travel agencies, handicraft and other cultural activities. Moreover
Tourism is a labor-intensive industry and as much beauty lies in rural areas only rural people could find
employment as guides and transporters. The planning commission of India has declared tourism as the second
largest sector in the country in providing employment opportunities for low-skilled and semi-skilled workers.
Domestic tourism contributes about 75% of tourism economy. Thus in 12th Five Year plan (2012-2017)
tourism has been marked as a dawn for new era for social integration and economic development. Thus, there
is a need for encouraging ecotourism as it provides income to rural people and conserving environment as the
need of the hour.

141 Dr. (Sr.) Beena, T.L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

Ecotourism and Foreign Exchange

Ecotourism has certainly helped in attracting the foreign tourist. They are more nature loving and wants to
enjoy the rich cultural heritage of India. The survey showed that 76.25% of the respondent have stated of
increase in foreign exchange in the state.

Table 4 Ecotourism and Foreign Exchange

Category Same as before Improved Total

Domestic tourist 23.12% 76.88% 100.00%

Foreign tourist 3.70% 96.29% 100.00%

Local residents 29.41% 70.59% 100.00%

Officials of tourist Development

Departments 28.05% 71.95% 100.00%

Tourism service providers 24.07% 75.92% 100.00%

Source: Primary Study

The in depth study of table shows that 96.30% of the foreign tourists have stated of increased expenditure on
eco trails, which proves that ecotourism also has potential to earn foreign exchange. Foreigners even purchase
the local crafts & dresses to take to their country which increases the states export promotion.

Conclusion and Suggestions

In recent years, the role of tourism in the economic and social development of a country has been the focus of
research as tourism can serve as an effective instrument in integrating this world into a single universe.
Tourism development in Himachal Pradesh has been considered as one of the most important and significant
factors in the social development in the state as it is endowed with all the resources necessary for the
development of state. The overall tourist inflow in Himachal Pradesh has been increased from 28.90 lakhs in
1993 to 97.5 lakhs in 2008, resulting in an increase of about 237.37 percent during this period. Nature has
bestowed Himachal Pradesh with unique beauty and splendour with its lush green valleys and a rich heritage
which tourists would not be able to find elsewhere. The following suggestions will prove useful to promote
tourism for overall development:

 A need for new and creative forms of social dialogue corresponding to the realities in a small company in
the sector has become apparent.
 Requirement of more effective customer/employee relationship as competitiveness and productivity in the
industry depends on the skill levels, professionalism, commitment, passion and soft skills of the workers.
 Hotels need to train their employees because today we have a shortage of qualified employees and it is the
only way to improve the quality of tourism industry.

142 Dr. (Sr.) Beena, T.L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

 As the role of government identified as key to developing the tourism industry so in order to make
Himachal an attractive destination for tourist, a location requires a wide range of services including
infrastructure and effective destination marketing
 Hotels and restaurants also have a huge potential to reduce poverty and in the era of LPG (Liberalization,
Privatization and Globalization) partnership should be enhanced to ensure more effective co-ordination.
 There is a need to improve working conditions and the important role of social dialogue.

References
 Ashworth, Gregory and Goodall, Brian, Marketing Tourism Places, Routledge, New York, 1990.
 Bhatia, A.K . Tourism Development, Principles and Practices, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1982.
 Chowla, Romila, Tourism Research, Planning and Development, Sonali
 Edgell, L. David. International Tourism Policy. Van Nostrand Rainhold New York, 1990. pg 6.
 Jacob, Robinet, Joseph Sindhu, Philip Anoop Indian tourism products Abhijeet Publications Delhi. 2007.pg 11-12.
 Raju, G.P. Tourism Marketing and Management,. Mangalam Publications, Delhi, 2009. pg 3-19.

143 Dr. (Sr.) Beena, T.L