Presentations
Empowering Communities: The Dynamic Interplay between Local Governance and Tourism in India
National Conference on “Local Governance in India@75: Issues, Challenges and Contemporary Developments” being organised by the Special Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on 25-26 March 2023.
Local governance and tourism are interlinked and have a significant impact on each other. The relationship between the two can be complex and influenced by various factors such as political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in understanding the role of local governance in tourism development and management, particularly in developing countries such as India. Local governance in tourism can influence various aspects of tourism development and management, such as infrastructure development, community participation, stakeholder collaboration, environmental sustainability, and cultural preservation. For example, local governance can facilitate the development of tourism infrastructure such as roads, airports, hotels, and tourist attractions. It can also involve local communities in tourism planning and decision-making, ensuring their participation and benefits from tourism. This theoretical paper examines the relationship between local governance and tourism in India. It provides a comprehensive overview of existing literature on this topic, including theoretical frameworks, empirical studies, and policy documents. The paper highlights the key issues, challenges, and opportunities associated with local governance in tourism in India. The findings of the literature review suggest that local governance plays a crucial role in shaping tourism development and management in India. Local governance structures and processes impact various aspects of tourism, including infrastructure development, community participation, stakeholder collaboration, environmental sustainability, and cultural preservation. The review also identifies key challenges facing local governance in tourism in India, such as inadequate resources, limited capacity, conflicting interests, and lack of stakeholder involvement. Based on the findings, the literature review proposes recommendations for enhancing local governance in tourism in India. These recommendations include strengthening local institutions, promoting stakeholder engagement, building local capacity, improving communication and coordination, and adopting sustainable tourism practices. The paper contributes to the literature on local governance and tourism in India by providing a comprehensive and critical analysis of the existing literature and offering practical recommendations for improving tourism governance at the local level.
Voluntourism in Puducherry; Exploring Motivation, Experience, Satisfaction and Revisit Intentions of Tourists
International Conference on “Hospitality and Tourism – Revival Strategies” organised by IHM Pusa - Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (IHMCT&AN), New Delhi and Ministry of Tourism. 24th - 26th August 2022.
Background: United Nations World Volunteerism report of 2018 highlights that around 110 million individuals engage in volunteer program all over the world, out of which thirty percent involve through formal organisation and the other seventy percent participate in informal volunteerism. Although there is a steady increase in the volunteer’s engagement globally, it is also vital to understand the key driving factor to choose an organisation, contribution and involvement in projects as well as their resilience in the community engagement at a micro-level. Even though socio-cultural, psycho logical and behavioural aspects of voluntourism or volunteering tourists have been studied directly, literature on the Indian context is rarely found. Objective: This paper outlines motivation, experience, satisfaction and revisit intentions of tourists participate in voluntourism in Puducherry. Methodology: For analysing the same, the authors have taken two organizations (Sristi Village and Atmasanga Environment Alliance) for an extensive primary survey. Data analysis and statistical tests were performed using IBM SPSS and IBM SPSS Amos SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) tools. Results: The present study confirmed the findings of three antecedents of voluntourists such as ‘Motivation, Experience, and Satisfaction’ for understanding volunteers’ intention to revisit a volunteered organisation along with future participation in other volunteering program and recommendation. Taken together, these results suggest that the overall revisit intention is dependent on all the factors included in the study. The study also revealed that the volunteers aged between (31-40) had a major impact on motivation. Taken together, these results suggest that the overall revisit intention is de pendent on all the factors included in the study. Conclusion: These observations have many implications for research into awareness and effectiveness of the voluntourists projects to all stakeholders.
Tourism and Hospitality Education amid COVID-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review
INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT: 'SHIFTING GEARS IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY IN A TIME OF CRISIS' Organised by the UK Research and Innovation, ICBT Campus in Collaboration with University of Sunderland, United Kingdom on 15th July 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic lead crisis in tourism and hospitality has also affected the education and training stakeholders of the sector. One major aspect that has discussed by many academicians is the issues faced while adapting digital education and training activities. A challenging problem that arises during this situation is that we cannot follow a single framework or model for the entire world, due to the diversity of the educational and training practices, inequality in access to resources or technology, and variations in the government policy process. Even though there are few studies on tourism and hospitality education amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a systematic review of the same to summarise the cases has rarely been seen. This paper analyses literature discussing cases, frameworks, challenges, issues, and scopes etc. on tourism and hospitality education during the times of COVID-19 and post approach. For this purpose, the authors have conducted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of articles published around the world from January 2020 to March 2021 and data analysis was performed using ATLAS.ti software. The present study confirmed the findings of the booming of digital education and the transformation of teaching and learning practices in tourism and hospitality education. In general, these results suggest that the current trend of digital education will create an innovative teaching and learning process. Moreover, it will help to reduce the existing gap of quality human resource in the sector. These observations have implications for all stakeholders involved in tourism and hospitality education and in-depth research into different courses or subjects within tourism and hospitality education programs.
Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives For Ecotourism Promotion In Uttarakhand Himalaya
Global Hospitality and Tourism Conference On Experiential Management And Marketing (GHTC-2020), March 18th to 20th,2021, NEHU, Shillong.
Research studies on ecotourism opportunities in the Uttarakhand Himalaya are majorly related to National Parks, Sanctuaries, Protected forest areas and Trekking circuits (Maikhuri et al., 2002; Chaturvedi, 2002; Rawat & Jagmohan, 2003; Bagri & Mishra, 2004; Bagri et al., 2009; Kabia & Rawat, 2011; Bagri et al., 2013; Rakhi & Rauthan, 2014; Singh, 2016; Bhalla & Bhattacharya, 2019). Some research work has been undertaken on the role and functions of Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and Department of Forest and Wildlife to promote ecotourism zones and circuits both in Kumaon and Garhwal regions. Ecotourism destination auditing and local people involvement is also the area of the research studies under which comprehensive information and involvement of local people have been given due consideration (Chaturvedi, 2002; Singh & Singh, 2004; Bagri et al., 2008; Mahar & Bagri, 2010; Kala & Maikhuri, 2011; Gupta & Rout, 2016; Bhalla et al., 2016). While some of the research work described the role of local homestays as part of local community empowerment, nothing has been explained about the state’s social entrepreneurship opportunities related to ecotourism. Keeping in view the above background, the present research work has been carried out to examine the scope, status and challenges of ecotourism social entrepreneurships in Uttarakhand. The authors have done extensive analysis of various literary sources and reviewed visions, missions, aims, successful social initiatives, USPs of different ecotourism social entrepreneurships in the World, India and Uttarakhand. Research findings further reveal that ecotourism social entrepreneurship ensures more productive and innovative solutions for various economical, socio-cultural, and environmental problems faced by the state. Also as a tool for rectifying existing ecotourism challenges and problems.
Dharavi, Mumbai: A Anthropological Study On Slum Tourism
National Conference on Emerging Issues in Research and Development, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, February, 2019
Slum tourism is the process of promoting and conducting tourism activities within slums (impoverished areas) that consist of distinct cultures, housing settlements, economic systems, lifestyles, and community frameworks. Dharavi, Mumbai is one of the biggest slums in the world, with a population of 700,000. Dharavi has gained significant tourist attention, especially after the release of the international Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire." Some local residents of Dharavi participate in slum tourism activities, as it originated in India from Dharavi, Mumbai. Slum tourism, as a part of cultural tourism, encompasses the diverse cultures of humanity that exist within slum settlements. This study of slum tourism as a cultural tourism activity explores the anthropological perspective of slums and life within them. Many tourists come from foreign countries, and there is a potential market for slum tourism packages in Dharavi, offered as half- or full-day trips in Mumbai. This study considers various aspects, including how the Dharavi community responds to slum tourism activities, recent trends in slum tours and their underlying reasons, the scope and potential of slum tourism in Dharavi, and tourists' views about slum tourism in the Indian market. The study aims to identify different slum tourism activities that can be promoted in Dharavi and how tourists rank the services provided. It also forecasts new and effective slum tourism designs, focusing on all aspects of slum tourism activities that can be developed. The research encompasses local communities of Dharavi, tourists, slum tourism tour operators, and other service providers as its main study aspects. Overall, this study highlights the need for an anthropological research model on slum tourism perspectives.
Employee to Entrepreneur Transition Trends and Financing of SMEs in Indian Tourism Industry
International Seminar, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, January, 2019
The tourism industry, encompassing transportation, accommodation, recreation, entertainment, food and beverage services, and travel services, accounts for a significant 8% of total employment. This research paper examines the transition trend of waged employees venturing into entrepreneurship within the Indian tourism sector and the associated challenges they encounter in financing tourism-related small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study reveals a positive transition rate within the tourism industry compared to other sectors, primarily influenced by factors such as digital marketing, accessible financing options, government support schemes, and minimal capital and labor requirements. However, this transition is not without its socio-economic challenges.
Drug Tourism in India: Trends and challenges
National Conference, Central University of Kerala, Kerala, January, 2019
Drug Tourism is becoming a trend with India's inbound and domestic tourists. Its traveling to another country or place with sole purpose of using the drugs that are illegal or expensive or unavailable in one‟s hometown. Hashish of Malan at Himachal, Magic Mushrooms from Kodaikanal, Idukki Gold in Kerala, Bhang and Opium of Rajasthan, Psychedelic drugs in Goa are major drugs or destinations that attracts domestic as well as international tourists. This paper studies the drug tourism in Indian society and Tourist destinations. Also the substance abuse due to drug tourism and effects on local communities and cities. Methods like Participant Observation (Goa, Malana, Kodaikanal, Idukki), In Depth interviews with Tourists and local communities, Open ended Questionnaire and News reports, and articles resulted that Indian working youths and students had traveled once with sole purpose of using drugs. International tourists stayed more days on destinations promoting drugs and Rave parties. Educated unemployed youths (both gender), Stressed working class peoples, Artists, Backpackers are followed the trend. From school kid to senior citizens Drugs had become part of the travel plan . Drug abuses are reported in India that caused by international and domestic tourists. The impact of Drug tourism can be reduced by private, public and community participation activities.