Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58

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Geography and Sustainability

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geosus

An analysis of tourist’s perceptions toward tourism development: Study of

cold desert destination, India
Ravinder Jangra a,∗, S.P. Kaushik a,1, Surjit Singh Saini b,2
a
Department of Geography, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra, Haryana 136119, India
b
DGM- GIS and Remote Sensing in Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t
• Tourists do not perceive any types of pol-
lution and societal barriers.
• The natural magnetism and socio-
cultural milieu of destination attracts
tourists.
• Kalpa has been perceived as destination
with significantly higher agreement.
• Chitkul has become the top tourist des-
tination in Kinnaur.
• Generated data can be useful in framing
tourism policy for the destination.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Tourism impacts on society are complex and mixed. However, they are vital to diverse societies, clusters, and
Received 18 August 2020 individuals dependent upon their morals, attitudes, and resources existing for tourism development. Increasing
Received in revised form 23 February 2021 tourism also brings many problems. Hence, tourist experience is fundamental for destination image and devel-
Accepted 23 February 2021
opment. This research examines tourist perceptions and attitudes toward tourism impacts in Chitkul, Kalpa, and
Available online 26 February 2021
Nako in Kinnaur. Random sampling has been used to measure tourist responses on a range of indicators related to
Keywords: tourism development. Likert scale responses were analyzed using factor analysis, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U-test,
Cold desert Kolmogorov test, and descriptive statistics. The results confirmed that tourists do not perceive any type of pollu-
Kinnaur tion or societal barriers. They observed that natural magnetism and the socio-cultural milieu of the destination is
Tourist perceptions
what attracts tourists. However, tourists are not satisfied with ‘networking services’, ‘organization efforts’, ‘sup-
Factor analysis
plementary conveniences’, and ‘carriage concerns’ at selected destinations in Kinnaur. Moreover, Chitkul emerged
ANOVA
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test as the top tourist destination in Kinnaur. Since the destination would emerge as a hub of tourist activities shortly
considering the congestion and exploitation of nearby tourist destinations at Kulu-Manali-Rohtang in Beas Valley.
Hence, the assessment of tourist perceptions can be used as an indicator of tourism destination competitiveness
and can assist in developing appropriate tourism policies and infrastructure upgrades.

1. Introduction 2015; UNESCO 2015). Tourism is a source of income generation for

Tourism has become a critical component of modern economic devel-
opment (Weaver and Lawton, 2010). It has been recognized as a major
contributor to the world’s economy (Holloway et al., 2009) and one of
the most significant elements of socio-economic development (UNWTO,
both developed and developing countries (Wijethunga and Warnakula-
sooriya, 2014). The number of international tourist arrivals was 1.5 bil-
lion in 2019 and India was the top tourist destination with an increase
of 19% in international tourist arrivals in South Asia (UNWTO, 2019).
It is essential to measure the way people think about a destination’s

∗
Corresponding Author: Contact: 09416191112
E-mail addresses: ravinderjangra13@gmail.com (R. Jangra), spk34@rediffmail.com (S.P. Kaushik), saini.surjit@gmail.com (S.S. Saini).
1
Contact: 09416482076
2
Contact: 09311666939

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2021.02.004
2666-6839/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Beijing Normal University Press (Group) Co., LTD. on behalf of Beijing Normal University. This is
an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini
social and physical environment as it is significant to enhancing the
tourism industry (Petrosillo et al., 2006). Tourists tend to be demand-
ing and have complex, multi-layered desires and needs. Today’s “post-
modern tourists” have particular comforts and independent aims. There-
fore, the government, as well as the private sector, needs to provide
favourable facilities for tourists to meet their requirements. The support
of residents and their attitudes affect tourism sustainability (Cina and
Botha, 2004). Tourists develop their satisfaction or dissatisfaction about
the vacation based on their attitudes and perception (Gnanapala, 2015).
Tourist perceptions are not homogeneous and are dependent on individ-
ual preferences and values (Hall, 2005; Richardson and Loomis, 2005;
Scott et al., 2005; Freitas, 2005; Gilg et al., 2005; Gossling and
Hall, 2006; Higham and Cohen, 2011; Gossling et al., 2012; Scott et al.,
2012).
Mountain tourism sustainability is dependent on the assessment of
landscape (Cebrian and Sanchez, 2016), sensitivity to climate change
(Garavaglia et al., 2012), the status of eco-tourism (Strobl et al.,
2015), and the conservation of the natural (Nössing and Forti,
2016; Quintana, 2017) and architectural culture (Giannakopoulou and
Kaliampakos, 2016). There is a large amount of literature that describes
the tourist’s role over time. Richard Cardozo was one of the first scholars
to measure tourist satisfaction (Cardozo, 1965). After that, Cohen rec-
ommended a typology that explains the word ‘tourist’ (Cohen, 1972).
In another study, four mechanisms were used to measure tourist satis-
faction with accommodations, attractions, transportation, and outdoor
activities (Danaher and Arweiler, 1996).
Several investigators used a structured questionnaire to measure
tourist perception. A Likert scale was used with scales of 5, 7, or
10 where the highest figure indicates agreement or satisfaction and
the lowest figure shows disagreement or dissatisfaction (Sumaco and
Richardson, 2011; Chheang, 2011; Elena et al., 2017; Ezeuduji and Mh-
longo, 2019; Joo et al., 2019; Petrevska, 2019; Chebli et al., 2020).
Moreover, multivariate analysis (confirmatory factor analysis and prin-
cipal factor analysis) was used to reduce the number of relevant fac-
tors (Dey et al., 2013). Cronbach’s Alpha, a reliability test, was ap-
plied to statistics by Chheang (2011) and Ezeuduji and Mhlongo (2019),
Andereck (2009), Dey et al. (2013), and Helen and Praise (2020) evalu-
ated the change in perception by location, using t-test and ANOVA pro-
cedures. Ezeuduji and Mhlongo (2019) used Spearman’s correlation, a
nonparametric test to compare ordinal variables. Moreover, some schol-
ars used the Mann-Whitney U-test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov’s test to
compare the means of responses (George and Mallery, 2003; Veal, 2011;
Elena et al., 2017; Ezeuduji and Mhlongo, 2019).
Despite the significance of this topic, few investigations have ex-
amined tourism perceptions in the Himalayan cold desert. The objec-
tive of this research is to contribute to the literature on perceptions
of tourist attractiveness. It develops a methodological framework to
examine the role of context in assessing the importance of tourist at-
tributes and their contribution to attractiveness. There is no research
on tourist perceptions of destination image and how the image influ-
ences specific destinations. Furthermore, the study area is remote and
has had no previous research on this topic. Thus, this study will help fill
the research gap and provide results for stakeholders and planners aim-
ing to strengthen the tourism infrastructure of the area to attract more
visitors.
Since 2005 tourism has grown rapidly in Kinnaur, the study area,
with an average of 115,151 tourist arrivals per year. Furthermore, the
annual growth of foreign tourist arrivals was 30.3% indicating an in-
terest in this cold desert destination (Jangra and Kaushik, 2018). The
serene environment of high mountains offers a variety of tourism prod-
ucts including tracking, mountaineering, rock climbing, rafting, Nature
Park, and Buddhist cultural heritage. Unquestionably, tourism offers a
vehicle for economic development and creates seasonal jobs for the local
population. This discussion focuses on tourist perceptions of tourism de-
velopment in three cold desert destinations in the Himalayas: Chitkul,
Kalpa, and Nako that are located in the Baspa, Satluj, and Spiti river
49
Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58
valleys, respectively. Due to accessibility and other infrastructure con-
straints, these destinations were neglected for a long time, but unrest
in the Kashmir valley in the early 1990s shifted tourism towards the
Kulu-Manali-Rohtang area in the high Himalayas. However, increasing
tourist loads have strained the area’s ecology and prospective tourists
are now searching for other cold climate destinations. Accessibility im-
provements have led to an increase in tourists in Kinnaur and the recent
opening of the Atal tunnel has created adventure and nature tourism op-
portunities in the Spiti Valley. The state government has also planned to
improve accessibility in the region by linking the Kulu Valley with the
Spiti Valley via the Pin Valley and Mud Wildlife Sanctuary. Collectively,
these developments will provide an ideal situation for tourism industry
development.
Thus, tourist perceptions are important for creating new visions that
may sustainably increase the tourist numbers. This study provides a
benchmark for planners, hoteliers, and other stakeholders for improving
the tourism environment by strengthening infrastructure and plugging
critical loopholes.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Study area description
The study area is located between 31˚05ˈ50˝N and 32˚05ˈ15˝N
and 77˚45ˈ00˝E and 79˚00ˈ35˝E in the north-eastern part of Himachal
Pradesh close to the Indo-Tibet border (see Fig. 1). It has developed as a
tourist destination in Himachal Pradesh with its physiographic individu-
alities and climate. Initially, the Himachal Pradesh Government pursued
restrictions on foreign tourist arrivals close to the Tibetian boundary.
However, in 1989 the government extended the ‘Border Area Develop-
ment Programme’ to meet the needs of those living in remote, inacces-
sible areas located near the border (District Census Handbook 2011).
Tourist arrivals at Kinnaur have grown from 2,059 foreign and
10,098 domestic tourists in 2005 to 17,860 foreign and 467,186 domes-
tic tourists in 2011. A sharp dip occurred in 2013 when thousands died
in severe floods occurred in the adjoining state of Uttrakhand situated
in middle Himalaya and the total number of tourists declined to their
lowest level of 28,581 in the year 2014. But have since increased with
a slow but sustained recovery. In 2019 foreign and domestic tourists
increased to 3,624 and 246,322, respectively (Himachal Pradesh De-
partment of Tourism and Civil Aviation). The months from May to June
and September to October are the two peak seasons for Kinnaur tourist
arrivals (Jangra and Kaushik, 2018). Their following destinations at-
tract the most visitors: Moorang, Sangla, Lippa, Chango, Nichar, Chitkul,
Kothi, Ribba, Namgya, Nako, Pooh, Rakchham, and Leo. For this re-
search, the three top destinations, Chitkul, Kalpa, and Nako are our
focus.
2.2. Data collection
A survey-based evaluation has been used to acquiring desired and un-
desired perceptions. Data about tourist perceptions were collected using
structured questionnaires during the May to June peak tourist period.
The survey of individual and focus groups was performed in June 2016.
Due to poor road conditions, field surveys were conducted before the
rainy season. Precautions were taken to avoid duplication, thus tourists
interviewed at one destination were not interviewed at any other desti-
nation. Some interviews were not used due to a lack of participant at-
tention and clarity, which was most common among group tourists. Af-
ter systematically considering the quality and extensiveness of the data,
the choice was made to focus on individual rather than group/cluster
tourists. Interviews were conducted when tourists were sitting and relax-
ing within the premises of nearby destinations. The length of interviews
ranged from 15 to 45 minutes, with an average length of 20 minutes.
R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini
Figure 1. Study area map.
2.3. Sample procedure
A random sampling technique was used to collect information from
foreign and domestic tourists. Approximately 80 interviews were col-
lected from each selected tourist destination. Also, 40 interviews were
collected from Reckong-Peo, the Kinnaur’s new district headquarters
(about 13 km from Kalpa) and the center of tourism activities. In to-
tal, 280 tourists were surveyed over two weeks. The sample size was
limited because of the short data collection period which is restricted to
May and June due to the rainy and winter seasons.
2.4. Survey instrument
A questionnaire was used to collect data and it comprised ques-
tions related to demographic and tourist perceptions of destinations.
The first section focused on characteristics of the tourists—sex, age, ed-
ucation level, employment, and place of residence. The second section,
on destination perceptions utilized using a five-point Likert scale, from
1 (negative) to 5 (positive). A pilot instrument, comprising 87 indica-
tors, was used to determine the key areas to investigate. In addition,
tourist journey questions were derived from the literature (Duman and
Mattila, 2005; Suh and McAvoy, 2005). As a result of this study, we
modified our instrument to fit the study area. Subsequently, the final
survey instrument consisted of 63 indicators covering ten areas: envi-
ronment (11), social-cultural (6), infrastructure (11), market (4), crime
(4), congestion (2), tourism development (3), tour and travel agency (7),
food (7) and hotel and accommodation (8).
2.5. Data analysis
Quantitative data was captured in Microsoft Excel and analyzed us-
ing the Statistical Programme for Social Science (SPSS 20). The level of
50
Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58
agreement for a descriptive study is examined by distributing the Likert
scale range of (5−1 = 4) with 3. Then, 4 is divided by 3 (4/3 = 1.33), and
the range of the mean analysis is low (1.00–2.33), medium (2.33–3.67),
and high (3.68–5.00) (Ramdas and Mohamed, 2017). The first stage of
analysis involved a statistical analysis of the tourist profile. To measure
tourist perceptions, multivariate statistics were used to analyze the data
as follows:
a) The data symmetry and the degree of distribution were examined
through skewness and kurtosis.
b) Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to categorize the
fundamental extents of the perceptions. The resolution of the
factor analysis has been performed in the pre-processing phase
to reduce the dimensions of indicators into a smaller number
of valid factor structure with maximum variance from the data
(Mitchell and Greatorex, 1993; Faulkner and Tideswell, 1997;
Abdool, 2002; Haley et al., 2005; Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007;
Wang et al., 2007; Hritz and Ross, 2010; Brida et al., 2012;
Singla, 2014; Kim et al., 2015). Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (BTS)
value and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling ade-
quacy value were also calculated (Kaiser, 1974). The criteria to
identify the factors have an eigenvalue greater than 1.00 (Meyers
et al., 2005), factor loading greater than 0.4, and factors with at
least two indicators have been retained (Velicer and Fava, 1998;
Little et al., 1999). Moreover, following the Exploratory Factor
Analysis (EFA), Cronbach’s alpha (𝛼) was calculated as a reliabil-
ity parameter to check the overall internal consistency reliability
of a set of indicators.
c) To identify the tourist perceptions, the mean ranking was calcu-
lated for each indicator.
d) ANOVA test was used to examine differences in tourist per-
ceptions between the factor or individual indicators, tour
R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58

Table 1
Demographic profile of respondents (N = 280).

Variables Category Percent

Chitkul Kalpa Nako Kinnaur

Nationality Indian 77.50 65.83 70.49 74.00

Foreign 22.50 34.17 29.51 26.01
Sex Male 70.00 70.83 77.05 73.53
Female 30.00 29.17 22.95 26.48
Age under 20 11.25 3.33 6.56 7.05
21–30 56.25 46.67 36.07 46.33
31–40 15.00 21.67 37.70 24.79
41–50 8.75 11.67 16.39 12.27
over 50 8.75 16.67 3.28 9.57
Religion Hindu 65.00 59.17 65.57 65.29
Muslim 1.25 0.00 0.00 0.63
Sikh 11.25 4.17 4.92 8.09
Christian 2.50 12.50 8.20 5.35
Buddhism 0.00 5.83 3.28 3.04
Jewish 13.75 8.33 9.84 11.80
Jedi 1.25 0.00 1.64 1.45
Atheist 2.50 6.67 1.64 2.07
Other 2.50 3.33 4.92 3.71
Education level No formal qualification 2.50 3.33 1.64 2.07
Matric 8.75 5.00 18.03 13.39
Secondary 6.25 9.17 11.48 8.87
Undergraduate 36.25 31.67 16.39 26.32
Postgraduate 28.75 26.67 37.70 33.23
Others professional degree/diploma 17.50 24.17 14.75 16.13
Marital status Married 32.50 47.50 65.57 49.04
Unmarried 67.50 49.17 34.43 50.97
Divorced 0.00 3.33 0.00 1.67
Members in 1–3 20.00 27.50 24.59 24.03
family 4–6 42.50 44.17 34.43 40.37
7+ 8.75 2.50 1.64 4.30
No response 28.75 25.83 39.34 31.31
Language Hindi 66.25 61.67 72.13 69.19
known English 62.50 84.17 85.25 73.88
Punjabi 37.50 12.50 19.67 28.59
Hebrew 17.50 9.17 9.84 13.67
German 2.50 3.33 3.28 2.89
French 0.00 5.00 1.64 2.21
Hindi + English 47.50 54.17 40.98 47.55
English + other foreigner language 11.25 17.50 8.20 12.32
Hindi + English + other foreigner language 2.50 3.33 3.28 3.04
Occupation Student 35.00 19.17 14.75 24.88
Government job 8.75 14.17 13.11 10.93
Private Job 20.00 28.33 8.20 14.10
Own business 21.25 25.00 50.82 36.04
Retired 1.25 4.17 1.64 1.45
Unemployed 13.75 4.17 4.92 9.34
Agricultural 0.00 1.67 0.00 0.56
Housewife 0.00 3.33 0.00 1.11
Other 0.00 0.00 6.56 2.19

Source: Field Survey 2016

and travel agency, food, hotel, and accommodations at the 3. Results

statistical significance level of 0.05 (Haralambopoulos and
Pizam, 1996; Tosun, 2002; Singla, 2014; Hritz and Ross, 2010;
Karnchanan, 2011; Brida et al., 2012; Türker and Oztürk, 2013;
Tichaawa and Mhlanga, 2015). The F-value statistic examines
the variances among the group means to the variability within
groups. A larger F-value indicates that the samples are more likely
to represent real effects. A radar diagram was used to graphically
show differences between factors.
e) Lastly, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test and the
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were used to evaluate mean differences
between different samples such as between domestic and inter-
national tourists.
3.1. Tourist profile
The nature of respondents was based on their socio-demographic
characteristics including: gender, age, education, religion, and occupa-
tion as summarized in Table 1. The ratio between male and female re-
spondents was 73.5 to 26.5. The majority of the respondents were aged
21 to 40 years whereas those aged less than 15 or older than 60 were
insignificant, suggesting that the harsh terrain conditions are challeng-
ing to some age groups and to females. The analysis reveals that the
largest proportion (65.3%) of respondents were Hindu, followed by Jew-
ish (11.8%), Sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists. Approximately, 60% of re-

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R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58

Table 2
Origin of domestic respondents and nationality of international respondents.

Domestic Continent International

Region Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Eastern India 27 13.05 Asia 37 50.69

West-Bengal 25 12.08 China 1 1.37
Assam 2 0.97 Israel 31 42.47
Middle India 2 0.97 Korea 1 1.37
Bhopal 2 0.97 Malaysia 2 2.74
Northern India 145 70.04 Russian 2 2.74
Chandigarh 13 6.28 Europe 24 32.88
Delhi 33 15.94 Copenhagen 1 1.37
Haryana 19 9.18 England 6 8.22
Himachal 36 17.39 France 2 2.74
Punjab 30 14.49 Germany 5 6.85
Uttarakhand 6 2.9 Italy 2 2.74
Bihar 1 0.48 Norway 2 2.74
Rajasthan 3 1.45 Sweden 1 1.37
Uttar Pradesh 4 1.93 Ukraine 4 5.48
Southern India 27 13.05 Holland 1 1.37
Maharashtra 22 10.63 Africa 1 1.37
Bangalore 3 1.45 Ethiopia 1 1.37
Chennai 2 0.97 North America 3 4.11
Western India 6 2.9 USA 2 2.74
Gujarat 6 2.9 Canada 1 1.37
Oceania 8 10.96
Australia 7 9.59
New Zealand 1 1.37
Total 207 100.00 Total 73 100.00

Source: Field Survey 2016

spondents completed graduation and university degrees. Visitors from
India made up 74% of respondents with 26% coming from other coun-
tries. Being near to the district headquarters and better hospitality ser-
vices, foreigners preferred Kalpa followed by Chitkul and Nako. Approx-
imately, half of the respondents were married. The average family size
of the respondents was 4 to 6. Respondents engaged in their own busi-
ness (36.0%) constituted the largest share followed by students (24.9%).
Most of the respondents were comfortable speaking Hindi and/or En-
glish, however many were well versed in multiple languages. The survey
found that international visitors came from 19 countries.
Table 2 reveals that the largest proportion of respondents (50.7%)
were from Asia, and overwhelmingly from Israel (42.5%). Tourists
from Europe accounted for the second-largest group (32.9%), promi-
nent among them was England (8.2%), while the rest were from Oceania
(11.0%), North America (4.1%) and Africa (1.4%). It is further revealed
that 70% of domestic tourists were from northern India due to proximity
followed by 13.0% each from eastern and southern regions. In northern
India, most of the respondents were from Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Pun-
jab, and Haryana. From the south, most were from Maharashtra while
West Bengal was the main source from the east.
3.2. Descriptive statistics, skewness, and kurtosis
According to criteria recommended by Chou and Bentler (1995),
there are no indicator that fell outside the ranges for skewness which
indicated that all the indicators are reasonably free from the skewness.
After observing the data, all the kurtosis values were found lower than
the cut-off value of 3.0 except for three indicators: hospitality and be-
havior of locals, landscape beauty, and climate (Table 3).
3.3. Factor analysis
A principal component factor analysis was first used to categorize
the extent of tourist perception indicators. To determine the indicators
that are eligible to be included in subsequent factor analyses, several
tests were carried out. In this case, Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (BTS)
was significant (Chi-Square = 3968.30, p < 0.000), and the calcula-
tion of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin statistics was about 0.808, suggesting that
the data were appropriate for factor analysis. Values of 0.6 and above
are required for good factor analysis (Tabachinick and Fidell, 1989).
The next practice is the process of rotation to determine the factors for
which to apply a varimax rotation method. The results of the rotated
analysis of the components matrix indicated that 39 indicators of the
eleven broad factors explained 64.4 % of the total variance. The eleven
domains were: societal barriers (4 indicators), organization efforts (5
indicators), socio-cultural attractions (4 indicators), pollution issues (3
indicators), networking services (3 indicators), elementary facilities (4
indicators), supplementary conveniences (3 indicators), environmental
management (4 indicators), natural magnetism (3 indicators), destina-
tion fears (4 indicators) and carriage concerns (2 indicators) as listed in
Table 4.
Reliability tests were used to study the internal consistency and va-
lidity of each scale (Zhao and Timothy, 2017). To evaluate the overall
internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient was com-
puted, which was 𝛼 = 0.894 for 39 indicators. An acceptable reliability
coefficient of Cronbach’s alpha with a value of 0.7 or larger indicates
good internal consistency (Nunnally, 1975) and a value of 0.6 can still be
considered acceptable (Arrindell and Van der Ende, 1985; Burgess and
Steenkamp, 2006; Hair et al., 1998; Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994).
Therefore, the value of 0.894 demonstrates acceptable good internal
consistency among the measurements.
3.4. Tourists’ attitudes towards perceived impacts of tourism
Table 5 shows tourist attitudes towards perceived impacts of tourism
in Kinnaur. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), as well
as mean ranking were used to examine the indicators considered to be
least or most favourable by tourists. Based on the mean measures of im-
pact indicators, indicators associated with ‘natural magnetism’ (4.43),
‘socio-cultural attractions’ (4.04), and ‘societal barriers’ (4.09) had the
highest scores. The ‘natural magnetism’ factor which comprises ‘land-
scape beauty’ (4.66), ‘climate and weather’ (4.35) and ‘walking excur-

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R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58

Table 3
Descriptive statistics of respondents (N = 280).

Factor Indicators Mean Std. Deviation Skewness Kurtosis

Societal barriers Feeling of safety 4.29 0.83 -1.204 1.712

Security from social crimes 4.19 0.88 -1.022 0.908
Crowding 4.13 0.96 -1.026 0.829
Drug trafficking 3.75 1.13 -0.55 -0.448
Organization efforts Opening hours of shops 3.24 1.11 -0.042 -0.771
Government efforts 3.31 1.03 0.138 -0.674
Shopping facilities 3.11 1.10 -0.038 -0.721
Filling stations 2.83 1.14 0.073 -0.871
Road network and linkages 2.41 1.10 0.549 -0.345
Socio-cultural attractions Hospitality and behavior of locals 4.36 0.82 -1.933 5.441
Religious values 4.11 0.86 -0.913 0.749
Local culture 4.11 0.88 -1.066 1.195
Local events and fairs 3.57 1.05 -0.464 -0.043
Pollution issues Air pollution 4.26 1.02 -1.642 2.444
Noise pollution 4.08 1.02 -1.035 0.761
Soil pollution and degradation 3.89 1.04 -0.817 0.275
Networking services Banking facility 3.10 1.09 0.048 -0.666
Money withdrawal facility (ATM) 2.82 1.06 0.172 -0.544
Tele-communication 2.69 1.21 0.324 -0.701
Elementary facilities Water availability 3.96 0.94 -1.044 1.455
Electricity supply 3.75 1.05 -0.752 0.249
Medical services 3.55 1.02 -0.562 -0.019
Quality-price ratio 3.51 1.04 -0.302 -0.446
Supplementary conveniences Adventure tourism 3.50 1.15 -0.592 -0.266
Auto-mechanic facility 2.70 1.09 0.299 -0.427
Availability of public toilets 2.40 1.15 0.7 -0.14
Environment management Quality of water 4.11 0.89 -0.943 0.782
Cleanness 3.92 1.02 -0.873 0.336
Environmental Safeguarding 3.85 1.05 -0.669 -0.162
Solid waste management 3.59 1.05 -0.35 -0.406
Natural magnetism Landscape beauty 4.66 0.59 -2.195 7.375
Climate and weather 4.35 0.84 -1.577 3.271
Walking and excursion 4.28 0.76 -0.994 1.438
Destination fears Security facility at destination 4.11 0.86 -0.91 0.759
Hydropower station as a barrier to tourism industry? 3.86 1.03 -0.693 -0.047
Has it an expensive destination 3.80 0.97 -0.5 -0.234
Historical-cultural Heritage 3.71 0.96 -0.53 -0.055
Carriage concerns Availability of transportation modes 3.26 1.20 -0.118 -0.824
Availability of public parking spaces 2.98 1.15 0.106 -0.743

Note: Responses were based on a five-point Likert scale

sion’ (4.28) had the highest level of agreement. This was not surprising
given the presence of lofty snow-clad mountains found in the western
Himalayas. In the study area, respondents assigned the second-highest
weight to their satisfaction with ‘hospitality and behavior of locals’
(4.36). Concerning ‘societal barriers’ such as security from social crimes,
crowding, and the feeling of safety at the destinations, there were no so-
cietal accomplishments which worked as a barrier to the growth of the
tourism industry. Tourists did not perceive any type of physical or men-
tal harassment with the ‘feeling of safety’ being highly significant (4.29).
Tourist perceptions found that the destination was hassle-free and did
not suffer from ‘social crimes’ (4.19). ‘Crowding and pollution’ are note-
worthy issues globally that have arisen due to unwise tourism industry
development. However, our study area is free from pollution and crowd-
ing with respondents acknowledging positive feedback on concerns re-
garding ‘air pollution’ (4.26) and ‘crowding on the spot’ (4.13).
Several factors were found to be less than favourable by our respon-
dents including ‘supplementary conveniences’ (2.87), ‘networking ser-
vices’ (2.87), ‘organization efforts’ (2.98), and ‘carriage concerns’ (3.12).
With respect to ‘supplementary conveniences’, respondents perceived
that the ‘availability of public toilets’ (2.40) was not satisfactory and it
had the least level of agreement among all indicators. The mean values
for ‘road network and linkages’ (2.41), ‘auto-mechanic facility’ (2.70),
‘filling station’ (2.83) and ‘availability of public parking spaces’ (2.98)
indicate their poor perceptions by respondents. The results for ‘money
withdrawal facility’ (2.82) like ATMs, ‘banking facilities’ (3.10), and
‘telecommunication’ (2.69) have some of the lowest mean values.
3.5. The difference in tourist perceptions by destination
For this study, samples were collected from three destinations:
Chitkul, Kalpa, and Nako. Hence, an analysis of variance at a P-value
of 0.1 was used to determine whether there were differences in tourist
perceptions by location. The selected destinations have similar terrain
and are all located near rivers with Nako on the Spiti River, Kalpa
on the Sutlej River, and Chitkul on the Baspa River. Nevertheless, sig-
nificant differences were found across these three destinations. Some
of the differences were found with ‘supplementary conveniences’ (F-
value = 41.157), ‘organization efforts’ (F-value = 26.410), ‘networking
services’ (F-value = 25.503) and ‘destination fears’ (F-value = 9.263) as
shown in Table 6.
3.6. Differences between national and international tourist perceptions
The Mann-Whitney test (U-test) was used to analyze differences be-
tween domestic and international tourists. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov
test (K-S test) was also used, the significance value of which indi-
cates that the normal distribution assumption required for the t-test has
been violated. Environmental management factors generated significant
mean value differences for ‘quality of water’, ‘solid waste management’,
and ‘cleanness’. In addition, ‘banking facilities’ were perceived by inter-
national tourists as not satisfactory due to the lack of ATMs. Other indi-
cators with significant differences between domestic and international
tourists were ‘road network and linkages’, ‘hospitality and behavior of

53
R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58

Table 4
Principal component analysis of tourist perceptions.

Eigen value Variance % Cumulative % Factor Indicators Factor loading

2.701 6.926 6.926 Societal barriers 𝛼= 0.769 Security from social crimes 0.730
Drug trafficking 0.725
Crowding 0.638
Feeling of safety 0.576
2.658 6.815 13.741 Organization efforts 𝛼= 0.763 Opening hours of shops 0.692
Shopping facilities 0.683
Road network and linkages 0.592
Government efforts 0.527
Filling station 0.517
2.515 6.449 20.190 Socio-cultural attractions 𝛼= 0.751 Local events and fairs 0.736
Local culture 0.698
Religious values 0.628
Hospitality and behavior of locals 0.581
2.479 6.356 26.546 Pollution issues 𝛼= 0.783 Noise pollution 0.761
Air pollution 0.751
Soil pollution 0.707
2.471 6.337 32.882 Networking services 𝛼= 0.786 Money withdrawal facility (ATM) 0.821
Banking facility 0.786
Tele-communication 0.440
2.340 6.001 38.883 Elementary facilities 𝛼= 0.711 Water availability 0.725
Electricity supply 0.666
Medical services 0.566
Quality-price ratio 0.497
2.173 5.572 44.456 Supplementary conveniences 𝛼= 0.618 Auto-mechanic facilities 0.705
Adventure tourism facilities 0.633
Availability of public toilets 0.532
2.103 5.391 49.847 Environment management 𝛼= 0.713 Quality of water 0.761
Solid waste management 0.601
Cleanness 0.572
Environmental safeguarding 0.530
2.018 5.176 55.023 Natural magnetism 𝛼= 0.662 Landscape beauty 0.709
Walking and excursion 0.699
Climate and weather 0.675
1.864 4.779 59.801 Destination fears 𝛼= 0.609 Hydropower station as a barrier to tourism industry? 0.764
Is it an expensive destination 0.619
Security facility at destination 0.601
Historical-cultural heritage 0.420
1.783 4.573 64.374 Carriage concerns 𝛼= 0.493 Availability of public parking spaces 0.732
Availability of transportation modes 0.644

Overall Cronbach’s alpha (𝛼)= 0.894

locals’, ‘landscape beauty’, and ‘climate and weather’. For the remain-
ing 28 indicators, there were no significant differences between groups
indicating the same level of satisfaction (Table 7).
3.7. Overall rating of the destinations by the tourists
Tourists visiting Kinnaur had positive and negative perceptions on
tourism. The result reveals that Chitkul had the highest agreement of
positive perceptions from respondents (4.14) followed by Kalpa (4.00)
and Nako (3.98).
4. Discussion
The study reveals that tourists who inhabit areas with few topo-
graphic changes have great curiosity in areas with deep valley, gorges,
canyons and mountain structures. In addition, the local community also
affects the number of tourists and their perceptions as their behavior
and hospitality play a vital role in tourism development. Tourists are
more likely to return and recommend the destination to their friends
and relatives when they feel comfortable and welcomed by host com-
munities.
On the other hand, if tourists are treated indifferently or with dis-
regard, a destination can gradually become less attractive. Tourism of
several renowned destinations such as Kashmir, Bagdad and Kabul have
been harmed by the upswing in terrorism activities. Generally, there is a
belief that a place that contains natural attractiveness, as well as amity,
will be liked by visitors. Except for one bizarre incident, our study area
has not recorded any violence. In 2012, one case of attempted rape was
reported at Reckong-Peo. This was unusual as females and tourists are
given the utmost respect and follow the local saying “Atithi Devo bhava”,
which means ‘guests are like god’.
In the context of ‘crowds and pollution’, many well-known tourist
destinations face similar problems and it is challenging to manage
them. Recently there has been a change in attitudes, particularly from
metropolitan area tourists, that expect destinations to be free from
crowds and pollution.
In developing countries, the availability of public toilets is a big prob-
lem at tourist destinations, especially in India. Tourist destinations in
the study area lacked toilets and those that did exist lacked proper hy-
giene. Regarding the roads, tourists were satisfied with the work of the
Border Road Organization acknowledging their efforts in the difficult
Trans-Himalaya terrain with having some of the world’s deadliest roads
(Fig. 2).
In Kinnaur, around 43.5 % of the road length is in poor condition
with some partially or fully damaged section. The road length surveyed
through field visits was 262.1 km of which 113.9 km road was dam-
aged. The government should take steps to upgrade and maintain the
roads and make them suitable for all-weather use as they are critical
for travel and tourism. Poorly maintained roads are solely responsible
for the seasonal nature of tourism in the study area as snow removal
equipment is lacking and damaged roads become slippery during the
rainy season. Tourists have suggested that there should be more road
signs in English. Road and traffic management should be improved to
help clear road blockages as traveling on these roads takes a lot of

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R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58

Table 5
Tourist attitudes toward tourism indicators (N=280).

Factors Indicators Mean Std. dev. Rank

Societal barriers (Mean=4.09) Feeling of safety 4.29 0.83 4

Security from social crimes 4.19 0.88 7
Crowding 4.13 0.96 8
Drug trafficking 3.75 1.13 20
Organization efforts (Mean=2.98) Opening hours of shops 3.24 1.11 30
Government efforts 3.31 1.03 28
Shopping facilities 3.11 1.10 31
Filling station 2.83 1.14 34
Road network and linkages 2.41 1.10 38
Socio-cultural attractions (Mean=4.04) Hospitality and behavior of locals 4.36 0.82 2
Religious values 4.11 0.86 9
Local culture 4.11 0.88 12
Local events and fairs 3.57 1.05 24
Pollution issues (Mean=4.07) Air pollution 4.26 1.02 6
Noise pollution 4.08 1.02 13
Soil pollution and degradation 3.89 1.04 16
Networking services (Mean=2.87) Banking facility 3.10 1.09 32
Money withdrawal facility (ATM) 2.82 1.06 35
Telecommunications 2.69 1.21 37
Elementary facilities (Mean=3.69) Water availability 3.96 0.94 14
Electricity supply 3.75 1.05 21
Medical services 3.55 1.02 25
Quality-price ratio 3.51 1.04 26
Supplementary conveniences (Mean=2.87) Adventure tourism 3.50 1.15 27
Auto-mechanic facility 2.70 1.09 36
Availability of public toilets 2.40 1.15 39
Environment management (Mean=3.86) Quality of water 4.11 0.89 11
Cleanness 3.92 1.02 15
Environmental safeguarding 3.85 1.05 18
Solid waste management 3.59 1.05 23
Natural magnetism (Mean=4.43) Landscape beauty 4.66 0.59 1
Climate and weather 4.35 0.84 3
Walking and excursion 4.28 0.76 5
Destination fears (Mean=3.87) Security facility at destination 4.11 0.86 10
Hydropower station as a barrier to tourism industry? 3.86 1.03 17
Is it an expensive destination? 3.80 0.97 19
Historical-cultural heritage 3.71 0.96 22
Carriage concerns (Mean=3.12) Availability of transportation modes 3.26 1.20 29
Availability of public parking spaces 2.98 1.15 33

Note: Responses were based on a five-point Likert scale

Table 6
Differences in tourist perceptions by destination.

Factor Mean score F-value Significance

Chitkul Kalpa Nako Kinnaur

Societal barriers 3.88 4.26 4.13 4.09 2.605 0.08

Organization efforts 2.59 3.18 3.17 2.98 26.410 0.00∗ ∗
Socio-cultural attractions 3.89 4.14 4.03 4.04 3.319 0.04∗
Pollution issues 3.92 4.29 3.85 4.07 7.543 0.00∗ ∗
Networking services 2.40 3.26 2.72 2.87 25.503 0.00∗ ∗
Elementary facilities 3.73 3.78 3.48 3.69 3.368 0.04∗
Supplementary conveniences 2.55 3.31 2.41 2.87 41.157 0.00∗ ∗
Environment management 3.73 3.96 3.86 3.86 2.425 0.09
Natural magnetism 4.30 4.57 4.32 4.43 6.857 0.00∗ ∗
Destination fears 3.99 3.70 4.06 3.87 9.263 0.00∗ ∗
Carriage concerns 3.03 3.16 3.17 3.12 0.530 0.59

Note: Responses were based on a five-point Likert scale

∗∗
Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level.
∗
Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level.

time and patience. Unfortunately public transport is not a viable al-
ternative. On the Sangla-Chittkul route, the ‘last village towards Tibet’
services are not good with only two buses running directly to Chit-
tkul. There are just two buses between Nako and Reckong-Peo (the
district headquarters) with one going to Kaza. To enter Nako, foreign
tourists need an Inner-Line Permit from the police check post in Poo
Village.
In context of banking and communication, networking services are
only available at Reckong-Peo. The other two destinations lacked such
facilities. Only one government mobile network, the Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Limited, was in operation. Additionally, there are only 83 public
telephones, most of which are located in Reckong-Peo. The telephone
density is only one per km2 (Ministry of MSME, 2010-11) which is an in-
dicator of the telecommunication network status in Kinnaur. Thus, there

55
R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58

Table 7
Differences of perceptions between domestic and international tourists.

Factor Indicators Domestic International K-S test Sig. U-test Sig.

Mean SD Mean SD

Societal barriers Security from social crimes 4.25 0.82 4.05 1.01 0.60 0.860 6516.5 0.232
Drug trafficking 3.80 1.10 3.64 1.19 0.74 0.652 6672.0 0.385
Crowding of the spot 4.16 0.94 4.05 1.01 0.36 0.999 6718.5 0.423
Feeling of safety 4.23 0.86 4.44 0.73 0.86 0.453 6211.5 0.070
Organization efforts Opening hours of shops 3.16 1.18 3.44 0.89 1.48 0.026 6102.5 0.055
Shopping facilities 3.02 1.13 3.31 1.00 1.31 0.063 6075.0 0.049
Road network and linkages 2.30 1.09 2.68 1.10 1.54 0.017 5617.5 0.005
Government effects 3.29 1.06 3.35 0.96 0.64 0.807 6831.5 0.567
Filling station 2.74 1.15 3.04 1.07 1.57 0.015 5949.0 0.028
Socio-cultural attractions Local events and fairs 3.62 1.09 3.45 0.92 0.80 0.538 6245.0 0.094
Local culture 4.05 0.90 4.24 0.82 0.80 0.546 6250.5 0.086
Religious values 4.12 0.84 4.09 0.90 0.51 0.958 7037.5 0.848
Hospitality and behavior of locals 4.26 0.89 4.59 0.57 1.41 0.037 5642.0 0.003
Pollution issues Noise pollution 4.08 1.07 4.09 0.90 0.50 0.967 6917.5 0.675
Air pollution 4.30 1.01 4.17 1.05 0.60 0.862 6644.5 0.330
Soil pollution 3.85 1.10 3.97 0.88 0.66 0.778 6938.5 0.709
Networking services Money withdrawal facility (ATM) 2.86 1.04 2.72 1.12 0.53 0.940 6628.0 0.343
Banking facility 3.22 1.10 2.83 1.01 1.15 0.143 5763.0 0.011
Telecommunication 2.74 1.19 2.58 1.23 0.63 0.823 6636.5 0.355
Elementary facilities Water availability 3.95 0.97 4.00 0.87 0.27 1.000 7017.5 0.819
Electricity supply 3.83 1.00 3.58 1.15 0.93 0.347 6273.0 0.105
Medical services 3.59 1.05 3.46 0.92 1.02 0.251 6371.0 0.149
Quality-price ratio 3.44 1.08 3.68 0.93 0.85 0.472 6286.5 0.113
Supplementary conveniences Auto-mechanic facilities 2.66 1.10 2.81 1.05 0.60 0.860 6646.5 0.360
Adventure tourism facilities 3.49 1.17 3.53 1.09 0.44 0.989 7116.0 0.969
Availability of public toilets 2.36 1.14 2.50 1.17 1.03 0.239 6520.0 0.250
Environment management Quality of water 4.24 0.81 3.79 0.99 1.43 0.034 5274.5 0.000
Solid waste management 3.74 1.03 3.22 1.01 1.38 0.043 5125.0 0.000
Cleanness 4.00 0.97 3.72 1.09 0.84 0.477 6137.0 0.059
Environmental safeguarding 3.89 1.01 3.76 1.13 0.42 0.995 6737.5 0.454
Natural magnetism Landscape beauty 4.60 0.64 4.78 0.45 1.03 0.240 6126.0 0.024
Walking and excursion 4.28 0.78 4.28 0.72 0.13 1.000 7045.0 0.857
Climate and weather 4.26 0.90 4.56 0.62 1.09 0.186 5887.5 0.013
Destination fears Hydropower station as a barrier to tourism industry? 3.90 1.01 3.78 1.09 0.37 0.999 6763.0 0.483
Is it an expensive destination? 3.84 0.98 3.72 0.92 0.53 0.941 6523.0 0.249
Security facility at destination 4.11 0.82 4.09 0.94 0.29 1.000 7049.5 0.866
Historical-cultural heritage 3.74 0.99 3.64 0.88 0.68 0.748 6547.0 0.265
Carriage concerns Availability of public parking spaces 2.99 1.22 2.94 0.97 0.65 0.800 6916.0 0.683
Availability of transportation modes 3.23 1.23 3.31 1.13 0.48 0.974 6984.0 0.777

Note: Responses were based on a five-point Likert scale

Figure 2. Glimpses of road network, linkages and condition.

56
R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini
Figure 3. Factor wise differences in tourist’s perceptions by destinations.
is a need to improve telephone networking as well as internet facilities
for tourism development. Auto mechanic facilities are also few and far
between, except at Reckong-Peo. Furthermore, there are few fuel filling
stations at Kinnaur. Most tourists fill their fuel tanks at Tapri because
the next opportunity is at Kaza. None of the selected tourist destinations
have filling station though, many options are available at Reckong-Peo.
Nevertheless, there is a need to increase the number of fuel stations
which is one of the urgent improvements needed for sustainable growth
of tourism (Table 5).
The results suggest that the tourists who visited Kalpa had signifi-
cantly higher agreement with all indicators except for ‘destination fears’.
This may be due to the fact that Kalpa is the major destination as well
as the former district headquarters. While it has lost its administrative
status to Rekong Peo which is 12 km away, it remains as the center of
all tourism activities in Kinnaur (Table 6; Fig. 3).
Table 7 shows differences for eleven indicators while the remain-
ing ones have similar perceptions between groups. In all cases, inter-
national tourists have poorer perceptions than domestic tourists. This,
in part, reflects the sensitivity of international tourists towards environ-
mental management concerns. It may also be because, in foreign coun-
tries, the governments have been more sensitive to natural area con-
servation and preservation, and hygiene. With the ‘road network and
linkages’, ‘hospitality and behavior of locals’, ‘landscape beauty’ and
‘climate and weather’ indicators, international tourist perceptions were
more favourable than domestic tourists. This may be due to the fact
that international tourists enjoyed the natural destinations, the tough
terrain and a cool environment more than domestic tourists. Interna-
tional tourists perceived significant satisfaction with shopping facilities
owing to their interest in the local culture.
Tourism perceptions are influenced by the destination’s location,
however, there were no significant differences in perceptions between
destinations. Chitkul received the highest agreement and is an emerg-
ing tourist destination that lays along the Baspa River surrounded by
the natural landscape of the green valley and lofty mountains. On the
57
Geography and Sustainability 2 (2021) 48–58
other side, Nako is situated at elevations greater than 3,000 m, has tough
terrain with barren mountains, rarefied air and little moisture. Due to
the amalgamation of the characteristics of the other two destinations,
Kalpa became the primary tourism hub due to its serene environment
with green slopes on lofty mountains.
5. Conclusion
The vision of tourists plays an important role in tourism develop-
ment. It is useful to highlight both assets and liabilities of tourism in
the study area and can be a reliable indicator for measuring the tourism
impact. The results suggest that Kalpa is perceived as the center of all
tourism activities and services that extend services to all of Kinnaur. Un-
fortunately the other destinations in the area, Chitkul, and Nako, have
less infrastructure facilities in terms of roads, accommodation, sanita-
tion, and waste management. However, Chitkul has received some pos-
itive perceptions and is becoming a tourist destination in Kinnaur.
Chitkul is an alluring and ecological vacation spot on the River Baspa
that attracts many tourists. Government administrators should insure
that tourists are satisfied with the facilities. If tourists are satisfied with
destination’s facilities, it will lead to destination reliability in terms of
revisits and recommendations to others. Subsequently, it will help the
destination to emerge as a tourism hub, particularly with opening of the
Atal tunnel linking the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys with Kullu and Manali.
Perceptions of tourists are also important for longer-term planning be-
cause tourists are well-known about the destination and its facilities.
The study results provide evidence that is essential to making de-
cisions about 1) refining the facilities and 2) economic development
for the study area. Together with resident perceptions, the knowledge
of tourist perceptions is essential in making appropriate tourism strate-
gies/policies. Such information is helpful as the basic points must be
understood before employing any policies for the tourism industry and
aid in stimulating the growth of sustainable tourism in Kinnaur.
R. Jangra, S.P. Kaushik and S.S. Saini
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge the team that helped to conduct the field
survey in adverse climatic conditions at cold desert destinations. We are
also thankful for the ICSSR. The authors sincerely thank the anonymous
reviewers for critical comments and constructive suggestions that have
significantly improved this manuscript.
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