Current Tourism Scenario in Uttarakhand  :

The most recently established State in India, Uttarakhand has a total area of 53,483 sq.km. with an exceptional landscape of the highest scenic quality ranging from river valleys and plains, such as that of the Ganges to the high snow capped peaks and glaciers of the Himalayas. Some 65 per cent of the land area of the State is forest or forest reserve, coming under the control of the Forestry Department.

According to statistics maintained by the UTDB( Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board ), the estimated volume foreign tourist growth rate achieved by Uttarakhand was 12.0 % as against 16.0 % growth at the national level. These estimates have the inherent problems of non-uniform coverage and aggregation of non-comparable sources. The State, in fact, does not have a proper statistical system on tourism. About 59 % of the holiday tourists were attracted by scenic beauty, 51.3 % by trekking facilities and 52.1 % by spiritual centres.

The major source markets of Uttarakhand are the United States of America, Israel, Australia, Italy, Germany and Nepal. The most popular destinations for foreign tourists to Uttarakhand were Rishikesh, Haridwar, Gangotri, Uttarkashi, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Auli, Nainital and Gaumukh. For domestic tourists, the main purpose of 44.2 % of the tourist visits was pilgrimage/religious while that of 43.6 % was holiday/sight seeing. The main sources of attraction for holiday tourists were scenic beauty and trekking even in the case of domestic tourists. The main states of origin of domestic tourists visiting Uttarakhand were Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra in that order. The most popular destinations for domestic tourists are Haridwar, Rishikesh, Nainital, Badarinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Uttarkashi, Mussoorie, Yamunotri, Almora, Ranikhet and Dehradun.

Tourism is already a major driver of economic growth and livelihood promotion in Uttarakhand. Its contribution to State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) is about 4.4 % and its share in employment is 2 % according to estimates worked out by the consultants. In recognition of the unlimited tourism potential of the state and its significance in the economic development process, the State Government has adopted a pragmatic policy frame work.

The tourism policy of the state has set a vision of placing Uttarakhand on the tourism map of the world as one of the leading tourist destinations by developing its manifold tourism related resources. The policy is supported by a package of incentives and mechanisms for attracting private investment in the sector. There is, however, a significant gap between the perceptions of the industry and the Government. At least, a section of the industry holds the view that the Government procedures are not very transparent and lacks strategic planning and focus in tourism development. There is also no clearly defined responsibilities and partnership between the industry and the Government in achieving the common goal of tourism development. At the same time the industry is required to pay a number of taxes like entertainment tax, luxury tax, license fee for river rafting and trekking, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Master Plan Main Report April 2008 24 etc. These are acting as barriers to tourism development in the State through private sector participation. Efforts are taking place by State authorities to promote and develop tourism; mainly through Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd (GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd (KMVN) – these State corporations are charged with promoting tourism in the Garhwal and Kumaon Divisions respectively. The ongoing developments have however been small scale and do not meet international standards. In order to develop tourism as a viable engine to promote sustainable livelihoods, a number of issues and problems will require to be addressed, namely:

1. Existing hill resort areas have developed in an unplanned fashion with poor design, congested inadequate infrastructure and limited attractions. If these resorts are to develop and survive, planning solutions to their current problems must be identified and implemented within identified carrying capacity limits.

2. Local road infrastructure, linking areas to National Highway from Delhi, is generally badly maintained and will require significant improvement if tourism is to be developed. The upgrading of rail and air transport capacities will also need to be addressed.

3. The spiritual, cultural and natural heritage of Uttarakhand is exceptionally rich and varied. Tourism zones and circuits should be identified incorporating these assets and broadening the attraction of the area to visitors. Such circuits may include nature reserves, areas of scenic beauty, archaeological and religious sites, and major urban destinations such as Dehradun, Nainital and Mussoorie. Consideration should also be given to developing a Delhi-based circuit incorporating other attractions and offering an alternative to the well established Delhi – Agra – Rajasthan circuit to foreign tourists.

4. While the natural environment is protected by both Forestry and National Park Regulations and covers almost 70 per cent of the area of the State, urban areas, villages and their fringes are poorly planned and protected. Proposals for implementing urban management and planning should be identified. Similarly efforts should be made to work closely with Forestry department who controls almost 70% of the state to set up parameters and guiding principles for tourism development within the different grades of protected areas in forests and mountain areas and their fringe areas.

5.Whereas there exist a plethora of different public and private Tourism, Hotel and Catering Training Institutes offering all sorts of diplomas and degrees. Tourism Training or rather the sort of Tourism training that is needed to foster next generation of tourism as well as community based tourism in the state is still limited in Uttarakhand at least away from the large cities and towns. Tourism and hospitality schools exist and further are proposed for Dehradun, Almora and other locations, although the nature of the courses offered and size of intake is not known at this point. The development of tourism in the State will require manpower training and re-training if services standards are to be raised. Present trained manpower resources require to be assessed and the needs of integrated tourism development identified. Special attention should be given to training needs for village and community based tourism, SME entrepreneurship, environmental awareness and conservation at the local level. The specific needs of product diversification into ecotourism, adventure tourism, trekking, leisure and sports will also require to be addressed in the manpower and training strategy.

6.The Institutional framework for tourism in the State should be reviewed in terms of linkages and procedures between the National, State and Local level. The next generation of tourism will operate in an extremely competitive environment. It is therefore of paramount for Uttarakhand Tourism Development that the overall institutional framework, its operational and management methodologies and its procedures are dynamic in nature and foster partnership creation across all sorts of boundaries between District, State, National, Public and Private entities. Partnership creation should be the name of the game at all levels, both internally between government agencies and not least between the public and private sector.

According to local sources the business community in the State is ready, has the skill and are geared towards such partnerships, it is up to the government to set up an operational and dynamic framework based on business confidence and skill to get started for the benefit of all levels, types and areas of tourism in the State.