A Peer-Reviewed International Journal of
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264 (Online) 2321=
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pact Factor: 6.=
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ndex Copernicus
International)
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Volume=
-IV,
Issue-IV, April
2016, Page No.
35-45
P=
=
u=
blished by Dept.
of Bengali, Karimganj College, Karimganj,
Assam, India<=
span
style=3D'font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New R=
oman";
mso-bidi-font-family:Cambria;mso-bidi-language:BN-BD'>
=
Website: http://www.thecho.in
The Hurdles behind the Development of Tourism Indu=
stry
in North-East India with Special Reference to Assam
Tribhuwan Kr. Bhartiya
Graduate Science Teacher, Vivekananda Vidyalaya Hi=
gher
Secondary School, Digboi, Tinsukia, Assam, India
Abstract
North-East India is endowed with enormous natural
resources that exhilarate the tourism. Despite of having great diversity of
flora, fauna, culture and traditions of tourist attraction, North-East Indi=
a is
far behind in the field of tourism industry. The reasons of lagging behind =
of
tourism industry in North-East India in particular Assam are the failure of
government machineries for proper advertising, law and order and developmen=
t of
socio-political set up for the tourism. Local people of Assam are also not =
as
interested and motivated for this sector as needed. There is a need to deve=
lop
a tourism friendly environment in this area. The tourism friendly environme=
nt
can be developed by co-operation between the government and local people of=
the
area of tourist attraction, the revival of the feelings of “atithi devo bha=
wah”
(guests are our god) in local people and feelings of support for the touris=
t.
With this tourism friendly environment more and more tourist will get attra=
cted
and hence provide the opportunity of employment for the local people that w=
ill
increase the revenue of the state and living standard of the people.
Key Words: Foreigner touris=
t,
Foreign exchange earnings, Indian tourist, Local Peoples, Tourism.
Introduction:=
North-East India is endowed=
with
great diversity of flora and fauna. Its beauty can’t be estimated easily. In
addition to its natural beauty of flora and fauna it has also great diversi=
ty
of culture associated with the peoples of different stock. Because of the
presence of huge diversity of flora, fauna and culture with different
languages, North-East India is also known as MINI INDIA. Its green forest, =
blue
hills, enchanting rivers as the basis on which an eco-friendly tourism can =
be
developed. For that a lot of matters needed to be properly addressed, inclu=
ding
development of good approach road to the spots of tourist attraction, creat=
ion
of infrastructural facilities like good quality tents with provisions for f=
ood
and other logistics, river cruising and water sports, bird watching towers,
etc. These facilities may attract a large number of tourists.
At the present time the=
rate
of growth in foreign exchange earnings from tourism is exceptionally high. =
The
most significant feature of the tourism industry is its capacity to generate
large-scale employment opportunities, particularly in remote and underdevel=
oped
areas. It provide very large opportunity for utilizing natural resources li=
ke
landscapes, mountains, chapari (sand beach), maidam, pond, marshy land, riv=
ers
etc. for the economic benefit of the population. It also adds value to a
multitude of human-made attractions such as monuments, palaces, forts and t=
he
unique rural and city environments. A unique feature of the tourism sector =
is
that facilitates employment to a large number of people in hotels, airline
services, travel agencies, making handcrafts, undertaking cultural activiti=
es,
traditional food stall and other tourism-related works.
Objecti=
ve
of the Study:
The main objectives of the study are as follows:
Ø
To study the scope of tourism in Assam.
Ø To study
the status of infrastructure for tourism in Assam.
Ø To study
the status of law and order for tourism in Assam.
Ø To study
the mentality of local people about tourism.
Ø To study
the intention of tourist for visiting Assam.
Ø
To study the behavioural approach of people nearby the studied touri=
st
places in Assam.
Hypothe=
sis:
The null hypothesis is assumed of:
Ø
There is no scope of tourism in Assam.
Ø There i=
s no
infrastructure for tourism in Assam.
Ø There i=
s no
law and order in favour of tourism in Assam.
Ø The loc=
al
peoples are against the tourism in Assam.
Ø There i=
s no
tourist who wants a tour in Assam.
Research
Methodology
A.
B.
C.
So investigator have used personal
interview for data collection because it is easy to randomly select local
people, tourist ( local and foreigner) and peoples of outside of Assam and =
take
interview either directly face to face or via phone. In this type of study,
interview method is highly applicable because peoples like most to talk and
share their experiences.
D.&n=
bsp;
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> For the foreign tourist website of
different travel agency present out of North-East region were observed for =
the
availability of different tour packages for the North-East region because i=
t is
tourist agency that guide and suggest the foreign tourist to make a tour.
=
E. Difficulties
Encountered in Collection of Data:
Some
persons not cooperated properly.
Ø
Persons
also feared of leakage of their personal views so didn’t cooperate freely a=
nd
frankly as needed.
Ø
It
was time consuming too and took much time in making persons ready for the
interview.
Ø
The
presence of different language speaking persons like Assamese, Bengali, Hin=
di,
English etc. created some communication problem during the interview.
Ø
As
felt by the investigator, there was a great manipulation in the answer give=
n by
the interviewee.
Results=
and
Discussion: Followings are the table and graphs that shows the inflow Foreign and
Indian tourist arrival in India from 1997 to 2014.
=
Table
No-1
Graph No. 1
Following are the table=
and
graphs that shows the foreign exchange earning i.e. revenue earning from the
Tourism in India.
=
Table
No- 2
Graph No. 2
Following are the table=
and
graphs that shows the Indian and Foreign Tourist arrival in Assam and Reven=
ue
earned from the Tourism in Assam.
=
Table
No-3
Year wise
Number of Indian and Foreign Tourists inflow in Assam:
|
Year |
Tourist
staying in Tourist Lodges of the Directorate |
Tourist
Staying in other accommodation like Hotel etc. |
||
|
Indian |
Foreign |
Indian |
Foreign |
|
|
2000-2001=
|
14016 |
486 |
961954 |
6920 |
|
2001-2002=
|
15373 |
456 |
1675299 |
4755 |
|
2002-2003=
|
18427 |
520 |
1222135 |
5466 |
|
2003-2004=
|
19894 |
508 |
2010213 |
6337 |
|
2004-2005=
|
20820 |
804 |
2165430 |
8561 |
|
2005-2006=
|
24280 |
755 |
2562148 |
7554 |
|
2006-2007=
|
20279 |
649 |
3459591 |
13008 |
|
2007-2008=
|
24057 |
960 |
3465757 |
12839 |
|
2008-2009=
|
26439 |
674 |
3672267 |
13859 |
|
2009-2010=
|
25665 |
664 |
3869860 |
14030 |
|
2010-2011=
|
25831 |
594 |
4101616 |
15039 |
|
2011-2012=
|
26439 |
696 |
4381897 |
15964 |
|
2012-2013=
|
22057 |
711 |
4522609 |
16997 |
|
|
Source: Statistical Handbook Assam 2013<=
/i>
Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. =
of
Assam.
=
Graph
No. 3
=
Graph
No. 4
=
Table No-4
Year wise T=
otal
Revenue Earned from Tourist Lodges in Assam:
|
Year |
Total Rev=
enue
Earned (Rupees in lakh) |
|
2000-2001=
|
35.87 |
|
2001-2002=
|
38.89 |
|
2002-2003=
|
41.03 |
|
2003-2004=
|
60.44 |
|
2004-2005=
|
69.01 |
|
2005-2006=
|
87.11 |
|
2006-2007=
|
81.30 |
|
2007-2008=
|
94.99 |
|
2008-2009=
|
103.92 |
|
2009-2010=
|
131.63 |
|
2010-2011=
|
143.60 |
|
2011-2012=
|
184.49 |
|
2012-2013=
|
248.19 |
Source: Statistical Handbook Assam 2013<=
/i>
=
;
Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. =
of
Assam.
=
Graph
No. 5
The table and graphs sh=
ows
that the inflow of both Indian and Foreign Tourist has increased with time =
in
India as well as in Assam. But when we compare the growth in tourist inflow=
of
Assam with that of India then it is very less. Similar condition existed wi=
th
the revenue earned from the Tourism in India and Assam.
With the expense of time
Assam is also growing with India but the pace of growth of Assam is lagging
behind that of India. As Assam is an indispensable part of India so its gro=
wth
should also be in conformity of India.
=
=
=
Table
No- 5
Source:
State/Union Territories Tourism Departments
From the Table No-5. Assam is also l=
gging
in attracting the tourist in rank with the other states having coparable sa=
me
or less resources of tourist attractions.
Reasons of Lagging of Tourism Industry in Assam: After interviewing the of local people, peoples liv=
ing
outside the Assam i.e. prospective tourist the investigator found the follo=
wing
reasons of the lagging of tourism industry in Assam:
=
1. Presence of Extremism: Most of the persons use to tour for joy
but not devote their life. Approx 90 percent of peoples avoid to making the=
ir
tour to Assam due to the insurgency emerging out of at least 10 banned outf=
its
in the entire Assam.
=
2. Feelings of Communalism: There is a feeling of communalism in s=
ome
section of peoples. Despite of taking as source of revenue, local peoples k=
eep
themselves part away from the tourists which make them unwilling to visit t=
he
different places in this region and hence dampened their zeal to visit agai=
n.
=
3. Lack of Awareness among Local People: There is a lack=
of
awareness among the local people about the tourism. The absence of tourism
related courses and local level training of peoples for the tourism may be a
great reason for the unawareness of the local people about tourism.
4.&n=
bsp;
Underde=
veloped
Infrastructure: The
good approach road to the spots of tourist attraction, infrastructural
facilities like good quality tents with provisions for food and other
logistics, river cruising and water sports, bird watching towers, etc are
highly underdeveloped in this region.
=
5. Lack of Proper Advertising: There is a lack=
of
proper advertising about the presence of resources of tourist attraction
present in this region.
=
6. Lack of Communication Technology and Facilities: Geograp=
hy
of North-East region is full of hill and hillock and forest reserve. So it =
is a
little bit of challenge to install hi-fi technology and facilities up to the
mark under the present socio-political situation of Assam too.
=
7. Lack of Proper Management for the Development of Tourism of Assam: <=
/span>The
inefficient leadership is also responsible for not able to raise sufficient
funding for the development of tourism.
In addition to these th=
ere are
many other reasons that cause the tourist to keep themselves away from this
region to visit.
Conclus=
ions:
Limitat=
ion
of the Study:
Ø
The study is limited only to some places because it is not possible =
to
visit each and every place in limited time.
Ø As the
study is spread out in vast area so there is a great chance of communication
problem because in different area different languages are spoken.
Ø As the
method applied is interview, so there is a great chance of subjectivity.
Ø
Most of the data used is secondary data so its authenticity depends =
upon
the authenticity of secondary data.
Scope f=
or
Further Research:
There are following scope for further research:
Ø
A comprehensive study is required for the study of mentality of local
people about tourism industry.
Ø For
suggesting ways for the propagating awareness among the local people about =
the
tourism industry.
Ø To sugg=
est
proper means of advertisement by general public without the help of governm=
ent.
Ø
To search new areas of tourism attraction in Assam.
Acknowledgeme=
nts: Author acknowledged his wor=
k to
his parents who provided him both financial supports as well as enormous
blessings. He is also thankful to Mr. Subhasis Brahamchari, Assistant teach=
er,
Vivekananda Vidyalaya, Digboi and Mr. Dheeraj Thapa, Assistant teacher,
Vivekananda Vidyalaya, Digboi who helped him a lot during the collection of
data and clearances of confusions during the investigation.
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The Hurdles behind the Development of Tourism Indu=
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Kr. Bhartiya