1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

Capacity building for sustainable tourism development in the golden triangle (Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark), Orissa, India

AuthorMohanty, Bimalendu
Call NumberAIT Thesis no.UE-02-16
Subject(s)Ecotourism--India--Orissa
NoteA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
AbstractTourism has emerged as the largest global industry and reflects a rising trend. At the initial growth stage, tourism activities have more beneficial impacts than detrimental effects. As tourism activities continue to accelerate, its impacts on economic, socio-cultural and environmental sectors become considerable. There emerges the need of adopting an approach of Sustainable Tourism Development, which attempts to give more economic benefits to the local people, preserve the local culture and traditions and protect the environment from getting polluted by the growth of tourism activities. To achieve these, the capacities of related human resources and institutions carry a significant role. To verify the above theoretical concept and to analyze the human resource and institutional capacity building initiatives, the 'Golden Triangle' in India is selected as the study area. It is formed by the three vertex cities Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark, which has got a special position in the tourist map of India due to its unique natural beauty, long and attractive coastline, rich culture and heritage, ancient architecture and religious importance. In spite of these potentials, maximum quantum of economic, socio-cultural and environmental benefits could not be obtained from the Golden Triangle. The level of capabilities and capacities of present human resources and institutions respectively are not sufficient to meet tourism sustainability demand for which this research has been undertaken. In this exploratory study, an attempt has been made to analyze the present human resource capabilities and institutional capacities for promoting Sustainable Tourism in the study area while looking into the environmental conditions of the tourist places and the shortfalls in government plans and policies. The study's empirical content is primarily based on the questionnaire surveys of the tourists and the local people. In addition, interviews were conducted to get information from the government officials and other key stakeholders. Secondary data were collected from the available literature and government publications. The collected data are analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods using analytical tool such as SPSS. The survey findings indicate that both human resource-wise and institution-wise, the existing capacities of different stakeholders are not sufficient to promote Sustainable Tourism in the study area. It is found that the government officials lack motivation to formulate tourism focused economic, socio-cultural and environmental policies. They lack with their ability to motivate and empower the local people to get involved in tourism related activities and the field level tourist officials do not have power to plan for the benefit of local people. The local people participation in tourism activities is found to be low. All the local residents do not have positive attitude towards the tourists and the tourists are not aware of the local culture and traditions before reaching. The local people, tourists and other stakeholders do not have environmental awareness. The institutions of different government departments do not have good coordination among them. The local governments Jack efficiency in maintaining cleanliness of the tourist places. The government lacks its capacity to provide better infrastructure and services, promote indigenous art and culture and provide safety to the tourists. To overcome these shortfalls, several human resource and institutional capacity building related recommendations are proposed for Sustainable Tourism Development in the study area.
Year2003
TypeThesis
SchoolSchool of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD)
DepartmentDepartment of Development and Sustainability (DDS)
Academic Program/FoSUrban Environmental and Management (UE)
Chairperson(s)Amin, A. T. M. Nurul
Examination Committee(s)Perera, L. A. S. Ranjith ;Shrestha, Surendra
Scholarship Donor(s)Government of Netherlands
DegreeThesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003


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