Tourism is one of the most significant industries worldwide, involving millions of people, providing work opportunities, and promoting infrastructural developments. Tourism is seen effective as long as the benefits are greater than expenditures. Overtourism refers to the phenomenon of a large number of tourists visiting a location beyond its capacity. Nonetheless, in recent years, this term has grown in use in the tourist business. Tourism destinations are seeing a surge in the number of visitors and residents in many cities throughout the world have begun to protest against tourism. Tourism may bring money into local economies, providing employment and boosting growth. Yet, it can also have negative implications such as environmental degradation, cultural homogeneity, pollution, climate change, deforestation and destruction of natural habitats. This research focuses on the negative impacts of overtourism caused by cultural tourism in mountains, which is an increasingly concerning problem due to the lack of regulation and the lack of awareness of the potential consequences of such activities. Although there have been many studies conducted on the topic of overtourism, this study will provide a unique perspective on the issue by focusing specifically on the impacts of cultural tourism in mountain regions. This study examines the history of travel and its development into mass tourism, tracing the origins of the phenomenon. It will provide a comprehensive analysis of the positive and negative effects of mass tourism on society, economy, and the environment. The research goes on to examine two cases from the Indian Himalayan area, Rishikesh and Kedarnath, to gain a better understanding of overtourism owing to cultural motives. The study attempts to understand the level of tourism in the case studies by using Butler's model of tourism area life cycle (TALC). The research also examines the challenges that inhabitants in the region experience as a result of tourism, as well as how government initiatives are insufficient to safeguard cities from overtourism. The study also attempts to fill a gap in the literature by arguing that unpreparedness of places cannot be labelled as overtourism when, in fact, it is imbalanced tourism. Finally, the study attempts to make policy suggestions to reduce the risk of overtourism in fragile mountain regions. The thesis findings reveal that a lack of municipal planning strategies, as well as a lack of strict law enforcement, has resulted in rising difficulties and created an imbalanced in tourism industry in Rishikesh and Kedarnath.
Il turismo è una delle industrie più significative a livello mondiale, coinvolge milioni di persone, offre opportunità di lavoro e promuove lo sviluppo infrastrutturale. Il turismo è considerato efficace fintanto che i benefici sono maggiori delle spese. L'overtourism si riferisce al fenomeno di un gran numero di turisti che visitano un luogo oltre la sua capacità. Tuttavia, negli ultimi anni, questo termine è diventato sempre più utilizzato nel settore turistico. Le destinazioni turistiche stanno assistendo a un'impennata del numero di visitatori e i residenti in molte città di tutto il mondo hanno iniziato a protestare contro il turismo. Il turismo può portare denaro nelle economie locali, fornendo occupazione e stimolando la crescita. Tuttavia, può anche avere implicazioni negative come il degrado ambientale, l'omogeneità culturale, l'inquinamento, il cambiamento climatico, la deforestazione e la distruzione degli habitat naturali. Questa ricerca si concentra sugli impatti negativi dell'overtourism causato dal turismo culturale in montagna, che è un problema sempre più preoccupante a causa della mancanza di regolamentazione e della mancanza di consapevolezza delle potenziali conseguenze di tali attività. Sebbene siano stati condotti molti studi sul tema dell'overtourism, questo studio fornirà una prospettiva unica sulla questione concentrandosi in particolare sugli impatti del turismo culturale nelle regioni di montagna. Questo studio esamina la storia del viaggio e il suo sviluppo nel turismo di massa, tracciando le origini del fenomeno. Fornirà un'analisi completa degli effetti positivi e negativi del turismo di massa sulla società, l'economia e l'ambiente. La ricerca prosegue esaminando due casi dell'area himalayana indiana, Rishikesh e Kedarnath, per comprendere meglio l'overtourism dovuto a motivazioni culturali. Lo studio tenta di comprendere il livello di turismo nei casi di studio utilizzando il modello del ciclo di vita dell'area turistica (TALC) di Butler. Il rapporto mostra anche le sfide che gli abitanti della regione affrontano a causa del turismo, nonché come le iniziative del governo siano insufficienti per salvaguardare le città dal turismo eccessivo. Lo studio tenta anche di colmare una lacuna nella letteratura sostenendo che l'impreparazione dei luoghi non può essere etichettata come overtourism quando, in realtà, è turismo squilibrato. Infine, lo studio tenta di formulare suggerimenti politici per ridurre il rischio di sovraffollamento nelle aree montane fragili. I risultati della tesi rivelano che la mancanza di strategie di pianificazione municipale, così come la mancanza di una rigorosa applicazione della legge, ha portato a crescenti difficoltà e ha creato un turismo squilibrato a Rishikesh e Kedarnath.
Impacts of overtourism through the lens of cultural tourism in mountain regions: A case study of two Himalayan cities
Parmar, Zeel Rajendrasinh
2021/2022
Abstract
Tourism is one of the most significant industries worldwide, involving millions of people, providing work opportunities, and promoting infrastructural developments. Tourism is seen effective as long as the benefits are greater than expenditures. Overtourism refers to the phenomenon of a large number of tourists visiting a location beyond its capacity. Nonetheless, in recent years, this term has grown in use in the tourist business. Tourism destinations are seeing a surge in the number of visitors and residents in many cities throughout the world have begun to protest against tourism. Tourism may bring money into local economies, providing employment and boosting growth. Yet, it can also have negative implications such as environmental degradation, cultural homogeneity, pollution, climate change, deforestation and destruction of natural habitats. This research focuses on the negative impacts of overtourism caused by cultural tourism in mountains, which is an increasingly concerning problem due to the lack of regulation and the lack of awareness of the potential consequences of such activities. Although there have been many studies conducted on the topic of overtourism, this study will provide a unique perspective on the issue by focusing specifically on the impacts of cultural tourism in mountain regions. This study examines the history of travel and its development into mass tourism, tracing the origins of the phenomenon. It will provide a comprehensive analysis of the positive and negative effects of mass tourism on society, economy, and the environment. The research goes on to examine two cases from the Indian Himalayan area, Rishikesh and Kedarnath, to gain a better understanding of overtourism owing to cultural motives. The study attempts to understand the level of tourism in the case studies by using Butler's model of tourism area life cycle (TALC). The research also examines the challenges that inhabitants in the region experience as a result of tourism, as well as how government initiatives are insufficient to safeguard cities from overtourism. The study also attempts to fill a gap in the literature by arguing that unpreparedness of places cannot be labelled as overtourism when, in fact, it is imbalanced tourism. Finally, the study attempts to make policy suggestions to reduce the risk of overtourism in fragile mountain regions. The thesis findings reveal that a lack of municipal planning strategies, as well as a lack of strict law enforcement, has resulted in rising difficulties and created an imbalanced in tourism industry in Rishikesh and Kedarnath.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2023_05_Parmar.pdf
non accessibile
Dimensione
6.42 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
6.42 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/201316