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Tourism industry became one of the natural choices to focus upon with the creation of uttarakhand state. That uttarakhand with its plethora of exotic locations and unharnessed opportunities’ in all areas of tourism could become a tourists paradise, was never in doubt. How did the state progress in that direction? Twenty five years is a good time to reflect. The creation of Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board(UTDB), giving administrative-financial capacity and an organizational structure for proper coordination-implementation of policy, was a step in the right direction. It is assumed here that plan prioritized – to match the limited resources with many problems, to eliminate wasteful expenditure or duplication of expenditure and to develop the best course of action to accomplish the defined objective. Back then, inadequacy of infrastructure availibity was quite often talked about. Thus, in keeping with the dire necessity of the times, special status too was granted to the state with many tax holidays. The million dollar question is, did the state transformed this into an opportunity to fix its infrastructure shortfall? To ensure that tourism industry progressed well in Uttarakhand, it was incumbent upon policy makers- planners, implementers to move ahead with a holistic approach. It is evident today, that the so called development happened organically-unregulated concretization. Either by default or by design, the theory of Himalayan degradation got experimented in Uttarakhand in the last twenty five years.
Diversity in mountainous terrain require a highly decentralized area based approach. A sustainable destination balances economic growth with resource management, conservation, visitor engagement and resident satisfaction. Commercially, tourism is an export consumed in the place of manufacture only. The development of tourism industry must be based on the premise, that economics and environment are the two sides of the same coin. Therefore, the scheme of things need to be mutually inclusive. The tourism potential of Uttarakhand is only because of clean green environment and the landscape it offers. However the powers that be, failed to appreciate that environmental and natural resources provide a critical input for the production of tourism product. Tourism, on the other hand produces a variety of unwanted by products that are disposed to the environment causing negative effects on the ecology of the host areas. The balance could have been achieved, had the motor mouths and paper tigers of Uttarakhand made an earnest effort, to implement building of requisite infrastructure first, before launching an all guns blazing marketing campaign. The minimum basic infrastructure of public toilets- bathrooms networked with STPs, waste disposal-processing-recycling plants,public drinkingwater, power, high speed internet connectivity, parking slots availability are still a far distant cry. The ecological and the environmental interest of the region has been violated in the rail and road links. Extension-widening of existing roads in the name of chardham all weather road, has only compounded the problems – increased number of landslide zones, debris falling zones, Ganga river bank turned into illegal dumping zones, and above all, over tourism.
The concentration around load centers-Dehradun, Nainital and Chardhams has proven counter productive. Low economic status is still a burgeoning reality in the hills. Majority locals feel left out of the booming visitor economy, filling low wage jobs, while profits primarily benefit external investors and large corporations. This disparity festers resentment among residents, escalating social tensions. A large part of hill districts fall under protected areas. Local communities are often deprived of social equity rights, whenever there is tourism related development between shared lands of natives and protected areas. The hidden cost of the establishment of protected areas is borne by the local communities whose livelihoods are dependent on mostly common pool forest resources within protected area boundaries. State officials undermine local community participation in protected areas policy and its implementation. These practices have had a negative impact. Jal, Jungle, Jameen is their right. Why should they be penalized for the incompetence of successive governments in not ensuring sustainable development? This uneven lopsided revenue generation and distribution could have been handled with ease and simplicity. Through destination diversification, visitor management and community involvement, a linear economic growth model benefitting the natives evenly, could have been put in place, but in vain.
GMVN and KMVN did little to exploit the prime location differential that their properties enjoy across Garhwal and Kumaon. Instead of being force multipliers, they remain fiefdoms of the state, marked with unproffessionalism. Merge them and outsource the properties to reputed hospitality groups to derive maximum revenue as well as tourist’s delight. Travel companies are well positioned to enact change by diversifying tourism- promote lesser known destinations. They influence travel trends, control marketing narratives, curate experiences, manage logistics – timings and guide towards sustainable practices. The commodification of local cultures usually fits the tourists but replaces traditional practices with tourist centric activities. This has led to erosion of authentic cultural-ritualistic practices and traditions.
It would augur well for the state to get hold of the lost grip on inter-sectoral coordination and ensure basic infrastructure projects are completed on a mission mode, instead of boasting about winter char dham travel and marketing Uttarakhand as a wedding destination. Unless paid heed and checked, overtourism and touron will have a concomitant effect on the state’s environment, ecology and population.