Tourism

 Socio, Economic, cultural  and Environmental Implications of Tourism in Himachal Pradesh

Introduction :

Being a service industry, tourism creates employment opportunities for the local population. Tourism is an important aspect in developing countries such as India where the level of unemployment tends to be high. Tourism creates large number of direct jobs in establishments like hotels, restaurants, tourist shops, travel agencies and also in entire transport, Handloom industries. Direct employment is also generated for certain category of workers like waiters, guide, tour operators etc. Tourism is one of the most important components of the global economy. It generates billions of dollars in revenues and millions of jobs worldwide. It is considered by many communities, especially in emerging countries the only tool for development, and the only chance for increasing the quality of life. Thus the tourism industry has stretched from seaside to mountain resorts and from small villages to big metropolises. Tourism is an industry with enormous economic impacts. It is also an industry that has many social and cultural or physical consequences. Tourism like many other industries is often used as a national or regional development tool. In general, tourism development within a local populace often has impact on the community both in positive and negative ways. These impacts have been well documented and are usually classified as economic, social and cultural and Environmental  impacts.

Economic Implications :
Tourism impact economy and changes in socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, income, length of stay, education level ethnicity. Tourism is a commercial activity and therefor, tourism can create employment opportunities, foreign exchange earnings and also increases the standard of living of people of Himachal.
Tourism in hp brings more opportunities to upgrade facilities such as outdoor recreation like khaziar of chamba, kufri as ice sport hub, parks and sanctuaries and roads and also socio-economic benefits to the local community, in terms of faster economic growth, larger jobs, foreign exchange earning because popularity of traditional products, fruits, vegetables enhanced by foreign travellers to Himachal and the demand for export has up , balanced development of weaker areas especially development of rural areas by utilising schemes such as Har Gaon Ki Kahani, Home Stay scheme etc. and higher revenue to the state and causes sustainable human development. Tourists spend their money on a wide variety of goods and services. They purchase food and beverage, transport and communication, entertainment services, handloom, traditional products kullu shaal, chamba rumal, pahari cap and also spend on accommodation, goods from retail outlets and tour or travel services. This money may be seen as an injection of demand into the state economy. Tourism development has often received support from the government and local residents. Therefore for the sustainable development of tourism one should take balanced view towards the economic impacts of tourism which assess both the benefits and cost of tourism development.
The economic impact of tourism has been commonly be viewed as a positive force which increases total income , direct and indirect employment and tax revenues, it also stimulates secondary economic growth. Economist consider the tourism as basic income, from tourism it helps to pay for goods and services, imported from other regions and contribution to government revenues through taxes, that can be used to develop community and infrastructural facilities and service to asset in general economic development.

Implication on Social development : The social impact of tourism development refer to changes in the quality of life of residents of tourist destination. Social impacts not only benefit the development of tourism but also interaction between residents and visitors and promote social transformation. The speed and concentration and the magnitude and direction of social impacts must be taken into account when attempting to attribute the cause of social impacts. The social and cultural impacts of tourism are the way in which tourism is contributing to change in value system, individual behaviour, family relationship, life style, safety level, moral conduct.

Positive Impact :
Tourists some time volunteer themselves to educate people and make them aware of their rights, brought  new belief and attitude to local population These social impact, affect the local people of state communities including tribal populations directly and indirect association with tourists.

Negative Impact :
One of the most negative  impacts of tourism has been on settlement. Tourism developing areas ,the industry has been responsible for the creation of new settlements, that did not previously exists. Immigration of workers is also typical to tourism resorts, specially when the local population does not want to work in tourism industry.

Cultural implications : it contribute to enrich religion, language, interpersonal relationship with the different kind of peoples, races, communities. when tourists purchasing some goods or services from the local people,tourist and local people find themsleves side by side and then finally tourists come face to face with the object of exchanging information and ideas. Tourist influence the behaviour of the state population. The local people tend to observe and learn the life style of the richer visitors from affluent societies and try to emulate their way of life.

Positive Impact : Tourism has contributed towards the revival of cultural traditions in Himachal. Home stay scheme has impacted local people in a very positive way. During their stay guest engage in daily chores of rural living, tend to live stock and farms. Cook traditional meal and and watch traditional Nati dance and even do participate. Through the  cross cultural exchange , local cultural identity got strengthened.

Negative impact :
However expansion of tourism, because of cultural commercialization, increase in crime rate, gambling, drug abuse, prostitution is common. Thus impacts of tourism on traditional life styles are important, where these traditions are considered from the basis of the tourism development. The intrusion of outsiders in the area may disturb the local culture and create unrest among the people. The local people may copy the lifestyles of tourists through the demonstration effect and the result could be loss of native customs and traditions. Some people may enter into criminal activities to fetch easy money from tourists which leads to increased crime and anti-social activities and loss of moral and religious values.

Environmental implications :Ecotourism, nature tourism, wildlife tourism, and adventure tourism take place in environments such as rain forests, high alpine, wilderness, lakes and rivers, coastlines and marine environments, as well as rural villages and coastline resorts. People's desire for more authentic and challenging experiences results in their destinations becoming more remote, to the few remaining pristine and natural environments left on the planet.

Positive Impact :
The positive impact of this can be an increased awareness of environmental stewardship. Some educated tourists even make locals aware how to sustainably use resources so that years after they come back they feel the same joy of nature. Govt. also try to make state attractive and clean so do various things like impose green tax, no use of plastic, dustbins after every kilometer etc. make govt. more assertive.If the positive impact of tourism can be observed most easily on the economy, then surely, that the negative impact on the environment is the most evident. In order to attract more tourism special emphasis is given on overall beautification of the surroundings, regular planting of trees and landscaping are done to enhance aesthetics. Huge investment is done to improve the facilities in the area like sitting areas, shades, proper sanitation, drinking water etc. More emphasis is given to preserve the monuments, heritage structures to attract more tourists. Improvement that help tourism like better transportation and communication, tree planting, restoration of historic sites, holly places, urban beautification and cleanliness, also improve the physical factors for the local population.

Negative Impact on env. :
Too many tourists can have a negative impact on the quality of life. Problams like shortage of electricity, water, land have arisen.Traffic jam as mostly seen on Shimla chandigarh highway due to flow of tourists to Shimla and kullu-manali, noise pollution increases due to these jams, clubbing and D J nights in hill areas and air pollution due to lots of vehicle badly effecting the env. . Tourism can create great pressure on local resources like energy, food and other raw materials. Greater extraction and transport of these resources exacerbates the physical impacts associated with the exploitation. Physical congestion experienced at the destination, increasing demand for natural resources and also contributes to the source of solid waste residual which creates the problem of air pollution, water and noise pollution, degradation of environmental factors, development of construction for accommodation and and these large building hampering the the beautiful sigh scene in their surrounding which is the beauty of the state, parking, water supplies, restaurants and recreational facilities. Therefore the physical impacts are on the local communities of their direct and indirect association with the tourists. . Waste disposal problems crop up and without proper measures to handle this problem it may worsen the situation. Due to more footfall, more transport, more noise, improper waste disposal, pollution increases in the area and disturbs the ecological balance of the region.

By: Pooja Sharda