Strengths and weaknesses of Tourism in Uttarakhand :

Tourism is unarguably one of the most important sectors to the state’s economy. The tourism not only contributing for over 50% of the total GSDP from 2006-07 to 2016-171, but also providing livelihood across all parts of the state (including hinterland areas.) As the State moves on its vision to become a Green Economy, tourism sector will play an important role in realizing the State’s socio-economic goals.

The number of tourists visiting Uttarakhand has consistently increased from around 19.45 million in 2006 to 31.78 million in 20162,and registered CAGR of 5.03%. A recent World Tourism & Travel Council (WTTC) report has pegged India as the 7th largest tourism economy globally in terms of absolute size, and further forecasts the sector to grow at 7% between 2017 and 2027, and the State Uttarakhand is expected to match this trend in terms of tourist arrivals.

Strengths of Uttarakhand Tourism :

 1. Presence of the Great Himalayan Ranges, Alpine forests and favorable environment makes Uttarakhand a perfect weekend’s palace with the proximity to big markets like Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, Jaipur etc.

2. Existing trekking routes like Nanda Devi Valley of Flowers, , Roopkund, Pindari Glacier, Dodital, Bedni Bugyal, ChoptaTungnath-Deoria Taal along with Rafting and water sports in the Ganges provides a unique tourism service for adventure seekers tourists.

3. The famous Char Dham of Uttarakhand namely Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath Hindus attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year to Uttarakhand.

4. National parks and Wildlife sanctuaries of International repute (e.g. Corbett & Rajaji National Park, Nanda Devi Wildlife Sanctuary) attracts the tourism.

5.The Char Dham all-weather road project will give a big boost for planned development along these highways.

6. Potential to tap the emerging markets in the sector of rural tourism, MICE, health & wellness.

7. Adventure Tourism activities like Camping, Trekking, Bungee Jumping, Bird watching, Paragliding and Water sports like rafting, kayaking etc. have a huge potential for the surrounding markets

 8. Employment opportunities for the local communities in rural tourism shall increase with increased impetus from State Government. Cultural distinctiveness, folklore and handicrafts could be tapped for rural and culture based tourism product development.

9. several Parts of Uttarakhand are known for being favourite destinations for retired people/pensioners to settle down, thus the potencial of future market for luxurious second homes/holiday homes is here.

10. Cluster of higher education facilities in Dehradun offers opportunities for advanced environmental centre combining research, education and general conservation/ ecotourism awareness among students and visitors.

Major Weaknesses/ Challenges of Uttarakhand Tourism :

 1. Disaster Prone Areas – There are numerous instances where development is on disaster prone high risk zones.  Inadequate planning in disaster prone zones. Almost all the popular destinations have insufficient solid-waste management, traffic management, public transport, health and safety arrangements, and lack of the elements of modern designs of tourism amenities etc.

2. Unplanned infrastructure development in and around Hill areas. Destinations like Mussoorie, Nainital, Ranikhet, Char Dham, Jim Corbett, Binsar etc. are over-crowded during peak tourist seasons and need urgent interventions like identification of permissible carrying capacities to enable sustainable planning, traffic and tourist management strategies.

3. Due to high seasonality being remote area and not easy access, tourism industry is limited to fewer regions/destinations and lack of major industries related to the hospitality/industry.

4. Strong conservation regulations as implemented by Forest Department have interrupted the development into natural areas.

5. Tourist Management during Char Dham Yatra. Exceptionally high peaks of Tourist inflows during vacations and unorganized Yatra tourists especially at destinations.

6. Additional pollution from vehicles lead to severe traffic congestion and pollution in towns & villages.

7. Solid Waste Management at tourism destinations.

8. Inadequate railways and airways connectivity and expansion of airports. Lack of maintenance of road is a key constraint for accessibility and also affected quality and numbers of tourists.

9. Limited big ticket private investments (specially in star category hotels).

10. Lack of awareness and support to ecotourism enterprises from Government as well as Private Entities. Also community understanding on Ecotourism is very limited and which leads to unequitable distribution of benefits.

However, in recent years, the tourism sector has seen unprecedented changes mainly on the back of IT and ITeS leads technological advances that have transformed the tourism sector. The consistent growth of the Indian economy has opened up avenues for new age entrepreneurs to create innovative business models, and Government programmes like JAM Trinity, Digital India and StartUp India are encouraging inclusive growth at the last mile through enhanced service delivery by digital adoption.