1. PATTERN OF ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN WAYANAD (Kerala, India)
with reference to
RESPONSIBLE ECOTOURISM
Shyju P. J. , P .V. Rajeev, P. S. Rana
(Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India)
Rinzing Lama
(Indian Institute of Travel & Tourism Management, New Delhi, India)
WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

2. Pattern of tourism development in Wayanad Methodology Findings
Contents
Introduction
Pattern of tourism development in Wayanad
Methodology
Findings
Ecocentric Responsible Tourism
Implications of Future Research
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WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

3. Introduction
International Tourist Arrivals to India have gone up to 5.1 million in
Kerala, a state located in the southern part of India has been projected as a model of tourism development in India.
The state has proven that it is a all season destination by introducing a number of innovative tourism practices such Wellness tourism, Responsible tourism etc.
Marketed Health Tourism as the main product and Natural attractions and cultural features as other tourism products in India and abroad, Kerala has developed itself as a brand among other states and foreign countries.
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WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

4. FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVAL IN KERALA 2008 TOP ORDER
Foreign Tourist Arrivals
Year
Kerala
India
2005
0.34 million
3.91 million
2006
0.42 million
4.47 million
2007
0.51 million
5.08 million
2008
0.59 million
5.28 million
FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVAL IN KERALA TOP ORDER
COUNTRY
NO. OF TOURISTS
% to the Total
U.K
141,147
23.57
France
52,239
8.72
Germany
43,468
7.26
U.S.A
43,307
7.23
Maldives
35,435
5.92
Sweden
20,666
3.45
Italy
17,385
2.90
Australia
16,968
2.83
Switzerland
15,603
2.61
Canada
13,541
2.26
U.A.E
13,334
2.23
Netherlands
12,511
2.09
Saudi Arabia
12,137
2.03
Spain
10,632
1.78
Russia
9,766
1.63
Japan
7,320
1.22
Belgium
6,899
1.15
Denmark
6,686
1.12
Austria
6,408
1.07
South Africa
6,051
1.01
Tourist Arrivals to Wayanad
Year
Domestic
International
2005
1,91,184
942
2006
2,25,923
2,611
2007
2,56,190
4,093
2008
2,95,465
5,638
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WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

5. Wayanad, the Green Paradise
Hill station, located in the Western Ghats, one of the hot green spots of the world.
Exposed to tourism activities, this beautiful destination is facing a severe threat from unrestricted & unplanned tourism activities.
Identified as a responsible tourism destination, the focus of tourism authorities are looking for more tourist arrivals than a Planned Tourism Destination
Face a series threat from ecological, socio-cultural aspects .
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WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

6. Located at Fringe areas/Highly fragile
Pattern of Tourism Development
Tourism is treated as the only future option of source of Employment and revenue. Annual growth of tourist arrivals have gone up by 22 percent
Wayand is projected as a pristine destination all over Kerala and Abroad. This resulted in huge inflow of domestic tourists and steady growth in foreign tourist arrivals. Major attractions are --
Located at Fringe areas/Highly fragile
Water bodies
Forest Area
Cultural sites
Pookodu Lake
Chembra Peak
Edakkal Caves
Banasura Sagar
Brahmagiri Hills
Tirunelli Temple
Soochippara falls
Kuruwa Island
Jain Temple
Karalad Lake
Wayanad WLS
Tribal settlements
Karapuzha Dam
Kambamala
Plantations
Kanthanpara Falls
Chethalayam
Ghat Section
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WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

7. Objectives of the study
To identify the direction of growth of tourism in Wayanad
To Evaluate the ecotourism programme implemented by Dept. of Forests & Wildlife
To analyse major impacts of tourism growth and the interaction of socio-ecological influences in tourism
To propose an ecocentric approach for tourist attractions in Wayanad
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8. Methodology
The study include both primary and secondary data. Sites were visited personally, conducted interviews with local people, visitors, people who are directly or indirectly associated with tourism trade. Interactions were made with approximately 500 people in various locations.
The observations are based on the collective opinion of authorities and a comparative evaluation of hosts community.
Informal interviews were organised with the Resort owners and homes stay owners in order to get a true picture of the study. 50 resorts and home stay owners were consulted in this regard.
This study is n out come of a long term observations since 1996 since then changes taken place in the lifestyle, climate and social changes have closely been noticed and evaluated.
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9. Methodology
Press and Media reports are also used to complete the study
The population of the study include all the resort owners and home stay providers.
Sampling framework used for the study is convenient sampling.
The variables used in the study include the various factors identified to have a significant impact on the promotion of ecotourism with a view to sustainability.
The various statistical tools used in the study include, Regression,
t- Test, ANOVA, Factor Analysis etc. using SPSS 16.
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10. Findings
It is observed that the revenue from tourism play a major deciding role to accept tourism as an alternative activity. This proves that the increased no. of home stay owners and small scale resorts charge more for accommodation and the main intention of the host is to earn more income from the visiting guests who are mainly from an upper income group.
The study finds that local people can serve better in the improvement of ecotourism activities
Local people are on the opinion that the present way of tourism development is not benefiting them The benefit goes to the owners of resort and home stays who have good connection with tour operators and tourism market.
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WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

11. Findings continues….
The local community is also on the opinion that present way of tourism promotion is not at all agreeable. Expectation of earnings from tourism blinded the operators and it resulted in excess charges for rooms and food.
The visitors opinion shows that they are quite unhappy with the facilities available in many attractions. This indicates that the expectation of visitors are not matching with their visits.
Another interesting point is the main purpose of the visit is to just fun and excitement, rather than making it as a learning and experiencing the nature. This lead to visitors dissatisfaction and at he same time misunderstanding on the efforts of officials.
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12. Findings continues….
It is felt that resource management is a multifaceted activity rather than community driven approach. But the local community has a greater role as awareness creation among the visitors are as important as awareness among the hosts.
The local NGOs and Students have a greater role in awareness creation and responsible ecotourism activity.
The local community has a strong feeling that government authorities are not sincere and not even explored the opportunities of ecocentric tourism though many destinations are located in the wild life areas.
The analysis proves that the alternative is accepted and alternative hypothesis is accepted . A sustainable approach has to be followed to highlight the destinations, improve the tourist facilitation centre and tourist/hosts awareness campaign on environmental front.
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13. Every one want a share of tourism
Impacts
Direct Impacts
New Constructions,
mushrooming of hotels and resorts
Changes in landscapes,
riverside and, hills
Piling up of urban waste
Increased vehicular traffic and Traffic problems
Induced impacts
Price rise of commodities
Increase in land value
Migration, attack of wild animals on local people
Commercialization
Every one want a share of tourism
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14. Visitors Impact
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WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

15. Responsible Ecotourism- the Future of tourism in Wayanad
Wayanad, is a hill station and tourism is a new entrant. Majority of people are basically involved in agriculture and related jobs. Unlike other districts in Kerala here natural resources are not exploited for industries but tourism is the main media of exploitation. Dept. of Forest and Wildlife enforce strict guidelines and regulations for tourism activity, but the District Tourism Promotion Council and Dept. of Tourism has little interest in this area.
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16. Responsible Ecotourism- the Future of tourism in Wayanad
Dept. of Forest and Wild Life involves the local community who live near that area. Eco Development Committee (EDC), Vana Samrakshana Samiti (VSS) are formulated to take up the wildlife preservation and ecotourism programe. This help both the Dept. and the community. Natural resources are protected and at the same time people are aware to protect their nature in order to make their livelihood.
Ecotourism programme by Dept. of Forests and Wild life is a well appreciable gesture as the main focus is preservation of ecosystem rather than income generation. Emphasis on preservation result in dissatisfaction among the visitors as their expectations are not fulfilled.
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17. Discussion
Mass Ecotourism is not an encouragable tourism option. A destination like Wayanad, needs a very systematically planned development.
All tourist attractions in the district are owned by Dept. of Forests & Wildlife or Dept. of Irrigation, and Dept. of Fisheries. Tourism came as an intruder to these places and taken over the complete control, but the main purpose is remained only to earn as much as income rather than protecting that places from environmental degradation.
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18. Discussion cont…
Over crowding, lack of waste management, and lack of proper control over visitors behaviour resulted in exploitation rather than conservation.
Absence of a price control mechanism results in price hike for many products. If a person from a different language background visit this destinations, the shop owners usually take advantage of the client, which results in commercialization.
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19. Discussion cont…
Loss of green cover of Wayanad over last few years resulted in a rapid changes in the annual rainfall and increasing temperature levels. This results indirectly the lifestyle of people, where the major portion of the agriculture land is converted to commercial crops than the traditional crops.
Life of common people are affected by a sharp increase in price of the land , which are located in river side, lake side, near to forest land or any other scenic spot which as enough tourist potential. Land value has gone up multiple times and a common
man can’t own a small house as the earning won’t match with the financial requirements.
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WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

20. Discussion cont…
Tourist activity should be controlled in places like Kuruwa Island and other highly ecofragile areas. Regulations in visit to eco sensitive areas, will result in conserving the natural resources for future generation, and at the same time efforts should be made to create awareness among the visitors to inform them about the bio-diversity of the area they are visiting .
It is found that the visitor interpretation centres are not properly working as there is a sever shortage of manpower and lack of proper maintenance. Taking things casually , will affect the reputation of the destination as well.
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21. Discussion cont…
Benefits from tourism are shared by few players in the district who are well established . Local people have greater expectations when an attraction is developing as a tourist centre. But, other than seeing the rise of some local resorts, the local people are ignored greater extend. The authorities also fails to recognise the need of local people where combined effort of local people authorities are scarcely seen.
Local organisations, academic institutions have a greater role to do. Activities taken up by the eco club, tourism club members in the district is worth to appreciate as it shows a well rehearsed move to involve and encourage the young to orient their future towards the future.
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22. Discussion cont…
The responsibility also falls on the visitor and the service provider to protect our environment from further degradation. A tourist is not a consumer here. But an active participant of conserving the nature and his surroundings.
Effective coordination is required among the government officials as there is a clear indication of lack of cohesion among the government departments. This results in creating obstacles on the path of planning, implementation of various programmes .
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27. Thank you
WEC 2010, Pattern of Tourism Development in Wayanad, with reference to Responsible Ecotourism

28. Review of Literature
Impacts of Tourism was a major concern for Hosts community, Academicians , Government authorities and planners since long back.
Several case studies on Bali, Thailand, etc. which have already shown the impacts of tourism [Noronha (1979), Pleumarom (2002)].
Defensive Tourism, Alternative Tourism, Natural Tourism, Green Tourism, Low Impact Tourism, Soft Tourism are some of the terms came up in the debate of Sustainability issues. [Krippendorf (1982), Jones (1987) Mader (1999)]
Sustainable Tourism ws highly appreciated and projected as the alternative to Impacts of Tourism [WCED (1987), Hunter, Butler (1992)]
Ecotourism is treated as a form of sustainable tourism for many researchers [Dernoi (1988), Mieczkowski (1995), Allcock (1994), Honey (1999), Weaver (2001)]
Here , a modified form of Responsible Tourism, i.e Responsible ecotourism is proposed against existing practices in Wayanad
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