Leveraging Tourism for Promoting Sustainable Development of Hill States.

*     Jit Kumar Gupta

• jit.kumar1944@gmail.com

Introduction;

Travelling  remains an important and integral part of human origin, growth and development. Travel has also emerged as an essential part of human learning and earning. People and communities are known to have been travelling since time immemorial,  but the reasons, modes, speed, and purpose of travel has been different, distinct and  changing over the period. Considering the availability of faster mode of travel; willingness to travel; ever rising levels of income;  availability of surplus financial resources; willingness to spend and  explore spaces of  of historical, religious, archeological and cultural importance, appropriately   supported by nations/communities  valuing  and showcasing their culture, state of art  historical buildings, natural spaces; and  inviting/ incentivizing people to visit  such places , has led to  large number of people  travelling,  both within and outside their places/states/countries of origin. Looking at the entire context, travelling has been considered  and valued as  one of the most dynamic  human activities, ever evolving, ever devolving, never static , never finite and never fixed.

 Tourism, in addition to  making people search for new places, has  also emerged as  one of the major propeller and  driver of economic growth and development of any place,  community and nation. Globally,  tourism  has been recognized as a sunrise / one of the most productive and fastest growing sectors of economy. Recognised as a labour intensive and high dividend yielding  sector, with focus on women and youth, tourism is known for  its capacity  and potential of generating large employment, promoting trade and commerce and ensuring infrastructure development, Considering the role and importance of travel in generating employment and  promoting economy , making people travel  has emerged as an important/ major  agenda/ valuable option, for nations to promote economy, generate employment and augment resources , promote planned development and remove poverty. Globalization, liberalization  and opening of the economies  has also   helped in and made valuable contribution,  in the growth of travel and number of travellers moving   at the  local and international level. Decolonization , easy and supportive immigration policies, falling travel costs;  easy access to global information, facility of  online sourcing travel, boarding lodging and other basic information, has made  seamless travel possible for large number of  people, both within and across nations.

 With UNESCO, the cultural arm of UNO, getting actively involved in identifying, notifying and preserving the built, natural and cultural heritage (including tangible and non-tangible heritage), having  universal value/importance, across communities and nations, global travel and tourism has  emerged a  preferred activity of human living and leisure. Based  on the data available, globally heritage  sector employed 1 in 10 people . around the world and in 2019 alone this sector catered to 1.5 billion international travellers.  According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, “one of the pillars of the tourism industry has been people’s inherent desire to see and learn about the cultural identity of different parts of the world,” which has now led to the rapid  growth and development of so called heritage tourism or cultural tourism . Looking at the entire context, tourism holds enormous potential and  can generate enormous  resources for both communities and nations  not only for  conservation of cultural and natural heritage but also for making positive contribution to the  sustainable development goals, enunciated by United Nations.

Tourists’ inflow in India- 2023-2047;

India, as a  nation and Indians as residents of this great nation , are known for its hospitality which is bestowed on all the visitors, irrespective of the cast and creed of th evisitors. In order to put the concept of Atithi  Devo Bhav before  the global community and to  make India globally preferred  tourist destination,  Government of India, in the year 2022, has put into place Draft  National Tourism Policy . Said policy has been evolved  primarily and   essentially,  to provide a  framework for  holistic  development of sustainable,  responsible and  eco-friendly,  visitor friendly  and community  supportive sustainable tourism development  covering the entire country  spread over a physical area of 32 lakh Sq kms,  administratively divided  into 28 states  and 8 union territories.

The draft policy  forms part of  the vision of  New India, on high trajectory of growth and prosperity.Policy aims at  Improving framework /conditions  for tourism  development in the country,supporting tourism industries; strengthening tourism support  functions and developingtourism sub-sectors. Governmnet of India under the Draft National Tourism Policy 2022, has made detailed studies and  in- depth analysis  besides   making projections of the number of tourists  likely to visit India, which include both international and domestic

 tourists;  foreign exchange earnings; employment generated and contribution made   in terms of Gross Domestic Product. These projections have been made for  four  different years including  years 2023; 2030; 2040 and 2047 , covering a total time  span of 25 years. During this period of  two and half decades ; international tourists are estimated ton grow from 13  million to 100 million, recording a  growth of  approximately 8 times. During the same period domestic  number of tourists will grow from 2 billion to 15 billionindicating an increase of seven and half times. In terms of foreign exchange earnings, national earning is projected  to increase from 30  to $  400 billion; whereas employmentgenerated shall grow from 88 million to 400 million. Estimates made have also shown that tourism generated GDP will record  a jump from 1143   to $ 1000 Bn. These projections have been made, primarily for nation to create necessary support system and infrastructures  required  for large number of tourists visiting India, from within and outside.

Looking at the projections made, it can be easily concluded that tourism will be among the  major player in the domain of not only making India as a preferred global tourism destination but will also help in generating enormous revenue besides creating space for generating  large employment in both rural and urban areas. Further, it is estimated that hill area will command large share in the overall tourism flow, generation of employment and  earnings India will make. It can also be concluded that hill areas will also face large pressure of tourists flowing in   besides having pressure of  large scale  growth and development. This calls for creating a  roadmap  on priority, for rationalizing the  inflow of tourists and managing effectively and efficiently tourism in hill areas/settlements, in order to safeguard the fragile eco-environment  existing in hills of India, failing which hill areas will suffer irreparable loss and damage to its environment, ecology, bio-diversity and culture.

Hill Tourism;

Tourism remains a double edged weapon which has been wielded by developed nations to promote prosperity, employment, economy and infrastructure to usher an era of growth and development; siphoning of resources from underdeveloped world. If tourism has brought prosperity to developed world, it is also known for bringing destruction of valuable flora and fauna and loss of natural resources, causing irreparable damage to local culture, values and loss of vital heritage in the developing/underdeveloped nations. Tourism has been used by nations, to promote employment, remove poverty and bring money for leveraging its growth & employment . However, adverse impact of tourism in developing societies have not been fully studied , understood and appreciated . If tourism adversely impacts and usher changes which undermine  local culture, values and DNA of any nation, it needs evaluation and elimination. Tourism needs to be promoted globally to remove negativities and promote positivity among nations to bring people/communities of various caste/cultures together for better understanding, learning about the culture, art and science of various communities and to usher an era of universal peace and prosperity. Values /cultures/resources  of all nations/communities must be recognized and respected with nature / natural resources preserved and conserved for posterity. Tourism should not be based on attitude/approach led merely by consumerism but should be based on/ guided / led by ethos of sustainability, for making it more meaningful, rational and relevant. Hill areas are known and valued for housing abundance of natural resources, quality  environment, diverse ecology ,unique bio-diversity  and wealth of flora and fauna. Hill  areas, because of  their relative cool climate, natural beauty, green  and snow clad mountains and hills, hold great attraction for the people living in hot climate in the  plains, which makes people  travel  to hill areas for escaping the harsh climate prevailing   in the plains. In addition, hill areas are known to be great  repository of  manmade and  natural heritage besides housing  places of great reverence, which also remain the  prime reason for  large number of people travelling to hill areas. Hill tourism in India is known to constitutes  major proportion of  local and global tourism.

During last five decades, under the impact of ever increasing  tourism  with large

number  of tourists visiting hill  states in India, hill settlements  have recorded massive increase in population ;   rapid physical growth; large scale haphazard and unplanned construction of buildings ; increased demand for infrastructures, services and amenities for catering to the needs of the  large influx of tourists and increased tourism.    However, these  valuable, sensitive and fragile gifts of nature, in hill  areas, remain highly vulnerable when subjected to unregulated forces of  urbanization. Considering the  fragility, criticality, role ,relevance and importance of hill  areas , these natural gifts need to be protected,  preserved and promoted against forces generated  by  unplanned , uncontrolled  growth/ development, massive and unregulated tourism.

Challenges posed by  Uncontrolled/Unsustainable Tourism;

• Tourism as a sector is known to be major polluter of environment  and generator of large carbon footprints.  World Tourism Organization  has estimated that tourism-based CO2 emissions are forecast to increase 25% by 2030.
•  Tourism  remains the major promoter of traffic and transportation and related problems of  air pollution  for the reason that all tourism related activities remain transport-led. In 2016, tourism transport-related emissions contributed 5% of all man-made emissions, while transport-related emissions from long-haul international travel were expected to grow 45% by 2030.
• Large proportion of solid waste related problems faced by majority of towns  can also be attributed to uncontrolled/unsustainable  tourism, leading to land degradation,  soil erosion, increased loss of natural habitat  and marginalizing  endangered species.
•  Unsustainable tourism not only  adversely /negatively  impact scarce  resources but also promote dilution and destruction  of  the  environment, on which  tourism  sector/industry essentially depends.
•  Tourism is known to be large consumer of  scarce energy and water resources. In Bali tourism consumed in all 65% of local water resources, while in Zanzibar, tourists used 15 times  more  water per night when compared with local residents.

In addition, unsustainable tourism also remains responsible for  wasting food, generating waste   and leaving harmful pollutant footprint.

• Global warming ,climate change and rising temperature has genesis/roots in unsustainable tourism , being practiced in majority of tourist destinations.
•  Unsustainable tourism has also been reckoned as the major cause for  promoting  unsustainable and environmentally harmful practices, especially among residents/communities of underdeveloped countries, due to poverty and social issues.
•  Large scale poaching and loss of valuable flora and fauna in the  Periyar Tiger Reserve in India,  was attributed to unregulated large  increase in tourists visiting tiger reserve.
• Majority of problems of unplanned/haphazard  growth and development in urban areas can be attributed to unsustainable tourism
• Unsustainable tourism has been reckoned to  be the prime reason for  large scale deforestation, damage to bio-diversity and fragile ecology  in hill areas.
• Deficiency of basic infrastructure and services in hill towns have genesis in  having over-tourism in  selected hill settlements.

 What  Makes Tourism -Sustainable

• Since tourism is known for its capacity and capability to impact and get impacted by numerous  activities and industries, all sectors of economy and stakeholders need to collaborate and co-operate for  promoting  sustainable tourism.  The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO),  and  Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), agencies involved in promoting sustainable tourism  and  defining  global standard for sustainable travel and tourism, have also mandated and called upon nations and communities to make tourism sustainable.

•  Sustainable tourism has genesis in  making optimum use of  available environmental resources while focusing  on conserving natural heritage and biodiversity; respecting the socio-culture of local  communities and making value addition  to inter-cultural understanding.
• Sustainable tourism aims at creating win-win situation for all stakeholders on  continued basis, in terms of generating resources, creating employment, promoting economy, alleviating poverty, promoting social services and  creating infrastructures/services.
• Sustainable tourism is built  on strong foundations created by putting in place;  rational and realistic  tourism supportive policies/programs; creating empowered institutional network at  national, state and  local levels ; providing  appropriate incentives and  making available  adequate  financial and manpower resources in order to restrict tourism to specific regions while ensuring that the country’s most precious natural resources won’t be exploited.

Objectives of  Sustainable Tourism in  Hill Areas;

 Looking at the  uniqueness and fragility of hill states,  it remains  important that  tourism in hill areas  must be  planned , designed, developed, organized and managed  with care and caution  so  that hill areas have   maximum benefits of the tourism in terms of, generating employment, promoting economy, skilling manpower and  making tourism sector qualitative and competitive. In addition, while making optimum use of the inherent strength / benefits of tourism, precautions must also be taken to ensure that fragility and glory of hill areas is not muted, diluted, marginalized and compromised, under the developmental pressure generated by tourism. Tourism in hill areas must  be managed in  such a manner that it   not only makes value addition to the nature and natural resources  but also ensures  eliminating all possibilities of adversely  impacting the  prevailing environment, ecology and bio-diversity.

 Considering the fragility, vulnerability and unique nature of hill areas, besides keeping in view the  agenda defined by the Draft National Tourism Policy 2022,  objectives  of promoting tourism in hill areas can be broadly defined in terms of ;

·       Identifying and mapping the areas of  tourist attraction in the state, including the category of tourists such places will be catering to, along with their capacity to hold  number of tourists, without impacting the local resources, climate and culture. 

·       Making rational assessment of tourism  potential  of hill states individually and collectively, based on the existing and future trends/pattern of the inflow of  number of tourists  on annual basis, spread over the year, for next 20 years along with purpose,  duration/place of  stay   of tourists, at various destinations in the state.

·       Creating  a  Master Plan/ Roadmap of sustainable  tourism, within the framework and approach defined in the  Draft National Tourism Policy 2022 ,covering the entire state, based on the capacity and category of  tourists, to be handled  at a given place. Master plan / Roadmap must be prepared based on the principle of  avoiding concentration in few selected places while promoting dispersed tourism /spread of tourists over the entire state, based on the holding/carrying capacity determined above.

·       Making a realistic  and rational assessment of the infrastructures and services  required, in terms of boarding, lodging, travel, healthcare, entertainment etc., for the tourists at a given place and integrating the required services/infrastructures  as integral part of  the Master Plan/Development plan, prepared for the   settlement /local area.

·       Promoting  responsible and inclusive  development of hill states, based on sustainable  tourism.

·       Empowering   people and communities at local level in Hill states by involving communities, generating  employment by skilling local manpower in  the art and science of promoting tourism along with preserving environment, ecology, resources and culture.

·       Making tourism sector more  responsive, competitive and qualitative  for attracting large private sector investment.

·       Promoting  sustainable development  of hill settlements  by looking at innovations in tourism, based on the local culture, climate , physiography, topography, water features, flora and fauna etc. existing at local level.

·       Realizing full potential of Hill Tourism in India and  making  Hill  tourism self-reliant and self-sustaining by bringing all stakeholders on common platform for promoting close co-operation and co-ordination among different players for achieving holistic development of sustainable tourism in the hill state

·       Building a strong, robust and dynamic base of tourism in Hill areas by making optimum use of Hill area culture and heritage.

·       Making hill tourism  both  a robust,  happy and healthy experience of travel showcasing  the diversity of products and experiences found in hill  India.

·       Making  hill tourism, a state priority, for promoting inclusive growth and development of  remote areas in hill states by creating options of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to youth, women, marginalized sections of the society/ informal sector and making provision of  adequate facilities and amenities.

Guiding Principles for Hill Tourism;

 Guiding principle of  promoting tourism in hill areas, as suggested by Draft National Tourism Policy 2022, involve , include  and revolve around  planning, designing and managing  the  identified  tourist destinations in a sustainable manner for making hill areas as preferred  destination for sustainable and responsible tourism;  providing  world class experience to visitors/tourists to hill areas. Guiding principles detailed under national policy, for promoting tourism  in hill areas include and involve;

i.                 Promoting  Sustainable, Responsible and Inclusive Tourism by;

·                  Making   hill areas , one of the best available destinations for sustainable and responsible tourism.

·                 Minimising  negative impact of tourism on  social, environmental    and     economic    aspects

·                 Bringing all stakeholders on common platform for taking responsibility for achieving sustainable  tourism

·                 Ensuring inclusive growth  and prioritize creating opportunities for marginalized sections of society including people living in remote areas

II.        Promoting Digitalization, Innovation and Technology in Tourism sector by;

·       Making tourism  technology-led, by using digitalization, innovation and state of art soft and hard  technologies    for  promoting  and    development    of    tourism   sector;

·       Transforming tourism supportive business  models and processes using technology.

·        Developing  market activities;  expanding  market reach, increasing growth, improving operational efficiencies of all processes and products involved /used in tourism.

·        Increasing competitiveness developing/ customizing product offerings, improving destination connectivity

·        Generating/sourcing  data for tracking performance and improving destination management.

·        

iii     Following a whole Government approach for;

·       Addressing holistically    multi- faceted  challenges faced by the tourism industry

·       Bringing all parastatal agencies on common platform, operating at national, state and local levels.

·       Controlling or managing tourism attractions such as national parks; skills development;

·       Funding  development of roads and other infrastructure essential for tourism.

  iv    Making Tourism Private Sector- led growth  by;

·       Creating a tourism-friendly regulatory environment

·       Revising regulations and  easing //  dismantling  the  administrative and regulatory

Roadblocks

·       Increasing  the entrepreneurial scope  and  reducing the cost of regulations.

·        Increasing productivity by  boosting the skills and competencies of all players

v.  Promoting Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat by;

·        Enhancing   interaction and promote mutual understanding between people of different States/ UT

·        Promoting  a sustained and structured cultural connect in tourism and related areas of culture, traditions & music, cuisine, sports and sharing of best practices etc.

·        Bringing  out the best of our tourism offerings across the States

·        Focusing  on the lessor known and less developed tourism destinations of the Country.

•                   

vi,    Following  a Destination Centric and Tourist Centric Approach by,

•                  Recognizes that  tourism is not confined merely to tourism service providers or one particular experience, but  overall experience of the destination.

•                  Adopting  a destination centric approach  for planning and development of tourism.

•                   Enhancing tourist experience throughout his journey from arrival to return -as the basic element  of  planning  for  tourism  development 

•                   Adopting a          tourist - centric     approach for  making   available all   relevant  and enabling  information and   services to   the tourists    online.

•                   Creating mechanism  for sourcing  feedback;    rating    of      services;   registering        grievances  and  seeking resolution.

Green Tourism

Tourism as a sector, in hill areas, is known to face significant challenges related to sustainability, which gets  compounded  due to  emerging crisis created by  climate change,  rising temperature,  global warming, increasing carbon footprints, increasing energy consumption,  large emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG), water consumption, waste management, loss of biological diversity,   mismanagement of built and cultural heritage.  Accordingly, tourism needs to be planned, designed, managed and promoted in such manner  that  it excludes  the existing challenges faced due to climate change and global warming besides  restoring all areas which are adversely impacted   in terms of  damaged bio-diversity and depletion of  natural resources. For making  tourism  sector safe and sustainable, hill states need to develop their own agenda for making  hill tourism  supportive of local environment, ecology and bio-diversity.

 Draft National  Tourism Policy, 2022 has suggested the adoption of Green Tourism , as  an   option and strategy to promote sustainable tourism, particularly in hill areas/towns for   maintaining and sustaining, their social, economic, cultural, and environmental contexts, while  addressing the needs of visitors,  industry, environment and  communities.

Green Tourism aims at embedding sustainability into tourism sector, by making the entire sector  more energy efficient;  more climate responsive;  least consumer of  water; generator of  minimum  waste; conserving biodiversity,  promoting cultural heritage and  safeguarding traditional values; supporting intercultural understanding and tolerance; generating local income and integrating local communities,  with a view to improve quality of life  and reducing poverty, making tourism more  productive, sustainable, raising awareness and supporting the sustainable use of natural resources. Green Tourism is a mandate given to  align tourism with the agenda defined by the  Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

Creating a Green Tourism Mission.

Tourism, policy, 2022 has suggested that in order to make Green Tourism a distinct reality,  Governmnet  should take it in a Mission mode, by setting National Green Tourism Mission. It further suggests that said    Mission, should be  taken up  at  National, State and destinations/settlement levels  with   following  objectives;

(i)             Mainstreaming  sustainability in tourism sector

(ii)          Encouraging climate action in the tourism sector

(iii)         Promoting  responsible tourism

(iv)         Promoting inclusive tourism

(v)          Aligning  tourism development  with Sustainable   Development Goals, 2030

 Strategic Areas for the Mission

The National Mission on Green Tourism  has given  mandate to all stakeholders to  focus

on the following areas, for achieving the  defined objectives ;

• Promoting Sustainable, Responsible and Inclusive Tourism; by developing a national framework   for sustainable tourism  on the pattern defined by UNWTO involving environmental sustainability;  developing  a plan for climate action  to  achieve reduction in GHG emissions, enhancing the usage of renewable energy, moving towards net  zero carbon; achieving the sustainable development goals 2030 and developing a code of ethics for all  stakeholders
• Forging  Partnerships  with  Private  Sector  for    Promoting  Green  Tourism;  by bringing all stakeholders on the common platform for leveraging the resources of private sector for promoting sustainable and responsible tourism; protecting  environment and influencing tourists to make sustainable choices; Increasing environmental awareness;     creating traveler’s  awareness; creating enabling conditions for private sector to become energy efficient , climate responsive, resource efficient ;  minimizing waste, conserving    bio-diversity and cultural values
• Ensuring Sustainable  planning, development and management at local level; by developing a clear strategy/ roadmap based on  sustainability as the  guiding principle, considering the fact  that  destination planning and development remain critical  for promoting  green  tourism, and  every destination being unique requires different and distinct strategy considering  the  unique assets  and   challenges existing at local level, besides preparing  Tourism Master Plan for the given  destination,  based on  carrying capacity to   avoid over-tourism;  promoting plastic free destinations  and  green mobility
• Measurement, Reporting and Verification of Green Initiatives; based on certification awarded by  Sustainable Tourism Criteria of India (STCI); framing suitable guidelines and  effective implementation of STCI across tourism industry;  and adopting  global best practices  for measuring, reporting and verification of sustainable elements of tourism.
• Promoting Collaboration and Capacity Building; by encouraging  all stakeholders to co-operate and  collaborate; setting  up  Centers of Excellence at national, regional and state level to create competencies, expertise and capacity to train enterprises and other stakeholders in sustainable and responsible tourism practice  and  creating  awareness about STCI and STCI based certifications
• Defining Fiscal  Policies and Economic Instruments; by advocating  government investments  in protected areas, creating cultural assets, water, waste management, sanitation, transportation and energy infrastructure investments;  providing appropriate taxation and subsidy policies  for purchasing equipment or technology that reduces waste, encourages energy and water efficiency, or the protection of biodiversity  and the strengthening of linkages with local businesses and community organizations for promoting  private sector investment  toward greener outcomes.

• Generating Resources  for Green Tourism; by facilitating access to capital markets; promoting Foreign direct investment (FDI); providing access to private equity, portfolio investment, and other potential funding sources aligned with sustainable projects and strategies for the tourism industry;  involving  various ministries responsible for the environment, energy, labour, agriculture, transport, health, finance, security;  ratioalising relevant regulations, policies and governance structure; creating partnerships with businesses, donors, tourists, international organizations, academia and civil Society to promote green tourism. Costa Rica, through innovations,  was able to turn a severe deforestation crisis in the 1980s into a diversified tourism-based economy by designating 25.56% of land protected as either a national park, wildlife refuge, or reserve.

Making Tourists Responsive;

Tourism as  standalone sector of economy ,has outpaced the overall global economy growth for nine years in a row. Prior to the pandemic, travel and tourism accounted for  $9.6 trillion contribution to the global GDP and  involved in creating 333 million jobs  or one in four new jobs around the world.  Accordingly, tourists have great role and relevance in  making tourism green and sustainable;  promoting economic growth ,  ensuring physical development, generating employment and promoting wealth and infrastructure in any area ; for the reason that tourism is primarily and essentially, a tourist-led activity. Tourists, accordingly, have major role in making tourism both sustainable and green.

  Looking at the growth in the travel, tourism and numerous  studies  made, it can be safely concluded that modern travelers are likely to participate more in environment friendly tourism. In 2019, Booking.com found that 73% of travelers preferred an eco-sustainable hotel over a traditional one and 72% of travelers believed that people need to make sustainable travel choices for the sake of future generations. In order to promote green and sustainable tourism, it will be important to  involve  tourists by educating  and making  him aware / responsive about the need and importance of  maintaining the sanctity of places  and resources availing  at the site being visited. Making tourism responsive and  sustainable should include and involves making tourist aware that ;

• Travelling invariably  creates  ecological and social footprint on the places visited and accordingly all the negativities caused needs to be minimized.
•  Making rational choices regarding destination selected, accommodation sourced, activities planned, and duration of stay at  the destination for saving resources.
•  Making rational choices for local travel by switching to  eco-friendly modes of transportation such as bicycles, trains, or walking .
•  Supporting local  tour operations or local family-owned businesses rather than large international chains for making choices of destination and sourcing packages.
• Avoiding activities that harm wildlife, such as elephant riding or tiger petting, and opting  for a wildlife sanctuary
•  Leaving natural areas in original form  by avoiding  littering, and respecting the local residents and their  traditions.
•  Protecting  local destinations and culture  not only for the  communities, who rely upon them, but  also for  the  future generation of travelers to the given destination.

Typologies  of Sustainable  Tourism;

Sustainable tourism is known to have many different layers. In order to regulate and make tourism green and sustainable, it will be important to understand various forms of the  tourism prevailing in any area. Tourism has been categorized into ; sustainable tourism, mass tourism. Hard/soft tourism; religious tourism,  cultural tourism, eco-tourism, rural tourism. However, whatever may be the nature of tourism,  it must include and involve sustainability/ green as integral part of planning, designing and managing tourism.  In addition, it must exclude  over-tourism and eliminate all  practices which lead to exploiting local resources,  diluting local culture and destroying local  vegetation.  Mass tourism  needs to be handled carefully for the reason that it is more likely to lead to environmental damage, loss of culture, pollution, negative economic impacts, and over-tourism, whereas,  Eco-tourism highlights responsible travel to natural areas that focus on environmental conservation. Sustainable tourism invariably supports and contributes to biodiversity , promote conservation by managing  tourism place/destination responsibly and respecting or enhancing nearby natural protected areas/ areas having  high biological value.

i.                 Sustainable Tourism;

 Sustainability  and sustainable development when embedded  in sustainable tourism, can be defined as an approach, principle and option,  which refers to   creating a  balance  between environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development  to guarantee its long-term sustainability. Sustainable tourism  being a continuous process requires constant support, monitoring  and quality leadership  to make it effective and efficient. Thus, sustainable tourism should invariably include and involve;

·       Making  optimal use of available  environmental resources that constitute  key elements in tourism development; maintaining essential ecological processes and help conserving natural heritage and biodiversity.

·       Respecting the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities; conserving their built/ living cultural heritage and traditional values besides contributing to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.

·       Ensuring sustainable long-term economic operations; providing  socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders based on equity ;  ensuring gainful employment and income-earning opportunities on regular basis; making available social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.

·       Ensuring informed participation of all  stakeholders and commitment of political leadership  for  ensuring wider participation and consensus building.

·        Ensuring continuous monitoring  and evaluation based on  carrying out necessary preventive/ corrective measures, and wherever and whenever necessary.

·       Maintaining high level of  satisfaction while ensuring/providing  meaningful experience to the tourists besides raising  awareness about sustainability issues and need for  promoting sustainable tourism practices.

ii  Soft Tourism;  Broadly tourism has been divided into two distinct categories, namely hard and soft tourism, having their own implications, role and importance in  tourism. Soft tourism  has been recognized as one of the best options to promote green tourism  for the reason it has been valued globally in  helping  and   highlighting local experiences, promoting  local  culture/ languages and encouraging longer time spent in  destination visited; as against  hard tourism featuring short duration of visit and  travel without respecting  local resources and culture. Globally it has been  observed that  majority of  World Heritage sites, pay special attention to protection, preservation, and sustainability by opting and  promoting soft tourism. Accordingly,  while soft tourism  helps in promoting sustainability whereas hard tourism largely leads to exploitation,  causing irreparable  damage to local resources, culture and existing bio-diversity. Hard tourism also damages the intrinsic value of the place visited and dilutes the context of role and importance of the tourist destination. Peru’s famed Machu Picchu, which was previously known as one of the world’s worst victims of over-tourism , due to large influx of  both human /vehicular traffic and massive  littering , caused due to   large number of  tourists visiting the place. In order to check the  maladies caused by excessive number of tourists, authority responsible for managing  the heritage site has taken number of steps to control damage caused;  by requiring hikers to hire local guides  while going on  Inca Trail;  specifying dates and time on visitor tickets to negate overcrowding ; banning all single use plastics from the site; rationalizing  cost of the ticket dividing the academic  year into different seasons with highest visiting charges levied during the peak season and lowest  ticket cost specified  for off-season  based on  good/bad  weather  prevailing at site to avoid convergence of   large crowds. Adoption of this strategy, has  not only  minimized  large crowds visiting the place in limited time span  but has also helped in checking over-tourism and  providing   local communities with  regular and assured income  even during the lean/off- season

iii     Rural Tourism;

Rural tourism has also been included in the  fold of green tourism for the reason that such tourism  takes place in non-urbanized areas such as rural areas, villages, farm land, orchards,  national parks, forests, nature reserves, and mountain areas. Rural tourism could also   include camping and glamping to hiking and woofing;  bullock cart ride,  organizing visit to heritage/traditional  markets, for  providing  unique shopping experience to the tourists.  Rural tourism has minimum carbon footprints and has been recognised as  one of the best options  to practice and promote sustainable tourism, since it usually requires/ less use of natural resources.