Sustainable Tourism: Nainital Case Study

This assignment analyzes the positive and negative impacts of tourism on Nainital. It discusses how tourism can benefit the local community through education, leisure facilities, and job creation, while also highlighting potential drawbacks such as sanitation issues, cultural interference, environmental damage, and waste disposal problems. The document further explores four policy implications to achieve sustainable tourism outcomes in Nainital, emphasizing responsible waste management, public policy development, value-based tourism promotion, and equitable distribution of benefits.

Introduction
Nainital is a famous hill station situated in the state of Uttarakhand in India. The headquarters
of Nainital are located in the Kumaon foothills in the Himalayan region. It is a valley
comprising of a lake, the shape of which is like a mango. It is surrounded by mountains, the
highest of which are Naina towards the north, Deopatha on the west side and Ayarpatha on
the southern side (Ministry of Tourism, 2015).
Nainital is famous for its beautiful view which can be seen from the top of the mountain
peaks. So, in this case study, the analysis of the tourist destination would be provided along
with explanation of the reasons why Nainital has become a popular tourist attraction in India.
Furthermore, the motivation and satisfaction theories in the context of tourism system and
issues contributing to the tourism development will also be stated. The various impacts of the
tourism activity along with four policy implications to achieve sustainable tourism will also
be specified below.
Analysis of Tourist Visitation in Nainital
The tourism system of the state of Uttarakhand has been an attraction for the foreign tourists
because of its potential for the various tourism and leisurely activities. They constitute about
58.2% of the total tourists visiting the Himalayas. Additionally, 21.9% of the foreigners visit
Nainital for health and yoga purposes. These two groups constitute around 80 % of the total
foreign tourists visiting the place. As a result, it has secured its name amongst the top 5
tourist destinations in terms of domestic and foreign tourist arrivals according to the Ministry
of Tourism, Government of India (Bansal and Gangotia , 2010).
Nainital has become a major religious destination for the tourists. As per the tourism board
the estimated domestic tourists visit were 18.99 Million and the foreign visits numbered to
0.1 Million in the year 2006. The state of Uttarakahand has become a major tourist’s
destination for Australia, UK, Nepal, Germany, US and other European countries. The
domestic tourism market of India has exceeded the figure of 563 million tourists out of which
the religious tourism constitutes a major share.
The best time to visit Nainital is from February to November. There are 43 places worth
visiting in Nainital. Some of them are Nainital lake, Naina Devi Temple, The mall road etc. It
is known as the Lake District of India and situated at 1938 meters above the sea level. Due to
its luxurious temperature and favourable climate, it has become a famous attraction for the
tourists. The Naini temple is situated on the banks of the Naini Lake in which according to
Hindu Mythology, the parts of Goddess Parvati fell while she was being carried by Lord
Shiva. Due to this reason, it is considered as one of the 64 Shakti Peeths.
Reasons for the attractiveness of destination
Nainital is one of the most visited tourist’s destinations in India. Due to its beautiful view it is
known as ‘Switzerland of India’. There are so many attractive places and adventure spots in
Nainital which are the reasons for its popularity.

The first and foremost is the ‘Naini Lake’ which is one of the beautiful lakes located in
Nainital. Due to the reflection of the greenery around the lake, the water seems to be green
in colour. It is divided into two parts –Mallital which is the northern side of the lake and
Tallital which is the southern side of the lake. It is the best hub for boating and water sports
using a small yacht.
The second destination is ‘Govindballabh Pant High altitude Zoo’. It is one of the famous zoo
in India since it is specially maintained for high altitude animals. Animals such as Himalayan
black beer, wolves, palm civet cats, barking deer and sambhar are kept in this zoo (Nair and
Ramachandran, 2016).
The third destination is ‘Naina Devi Temple’. It is one the famous temples in India.
According to Hindu mythology. When Lord Shiva was carrying the dead body of his wife
‘Sati’, one of its eyes fell to form a lake and became one of the ‘shaktipeeth’.
The fourth destination is the ‘Snow View’. It is one of the oldest tourist spot and is famous
for its beautiful view. It is 2.5 Kms away from the town and situated at a height of 2270
Meters. It can be easily reached by a ropeway and is connected by Mallital. At the snow view
point trekking can be done up to the Nainital peak which is the highest peak in Nainital.
Apart from this, Tiffin top is situated at a height of 2292 meters above the sea level which
provides a beautiful view of the Great Himalayas.
According to Vérain (2015) the main reason for visiting the place is motivation, expectation
and satisfaction of the tourists. These three aspects are interconnected. The past experience
of the tourists changes their expectations and motivations towards a place and as a result
motivation becomes an aim to visit the place repeatedly. There are various approaches to
tourist motivation which are –firstly travelling is a response to what is lacking but yet desired.
Secondly, destination is a pull responding to motivational push. Thirdly, motivation is a
fantasy. Fourthly, motivation can be viewed as a purpose (Graham, 1981). Fifthly, motivation
and tourism can be viewed as experiences. As this tourist destination can view an increase in
the number of tourists , so it is in the development stage in the tourism area life cycle.
Furthermore, according to Maslow’s theory of motivation, the needs of self-actualization and
creativity of the tourists are fulfilled, hence they want to visit Nainital again and again
(Crompton, 1979). If the tourists are satisfied they would visit the place repeatedly and
recommend others to visit it. Thus tourism satisfaction has impact on loyalty of the tourists
which helps in the realization of economic goals resulting in increased number of tourists and
income. So, a cognitive –affective model is used to analyse the cognitive evaluations have an
impact on the satisfaction level of the tourists. Factors such as emotions and expectations are
the crucial elements having an impact on the satisfaction levels of the tourists (FICCI, 2015).
Identification and analyses of the issues related to tourism and destination development
at the location

As per Rana and Kumar (2017) the tourism industry of Nainital operates within an ecosystem
which comprises of living organisms with the surroundings sustaining them. So, it is being
confronted by various issues which are as follows:
1. Impact on the local ecosystem: Due to the tourist related construction and activities,
permanent changes in the local ecosystems are being observed.
2. Pollution: Due to the lack of integration of the tourism structure with the natural
surroundings, pollution is being created which is harmful for the environment of Nainital.
The absence of land use procedures, proper planning and coordination between the natural
eco system and infrastructure of the city has greatly affected the ecology of the tourist
destination.
3. Loss of biodiversity: Due to excessive transportation and tourists, there has been an
increase in the greenhouse gases which has largely influenced the biodiversity of the region.
There has been a decrease in the supply of natural goods and services, food supplies along
with destabilization of the eco system by weakening its capacity to deal with the natural
disasters such as droughts, cloud burst, floods and human caused stress.
4. Changes in the climate: Tourism industry greatly affects the environment along with
the climate. Due to increase in the tourists at Nainital, there has been an increase in the
frequency of disasters such as landslides, earthquakes and floods which affect and are greatly
affected by the rise in the tourist industry (Rautela et al., 2015).
5. Depletion of the ozone layer: Due to increase in the greenhouse gases and pollution,
there has been ac depletion in the ozone layer which is harmful for the local community as
well as tourists residing at the place.
6. Disposal of waste: In Nainital, the disposal of waste has been a major problem. Due
to its improper disposal the natural environment of the place has been degraded. In the
Himalayan region, the tourists generate a great deal of waste and such practices are degrading
the environment (Mamhoori and Nasim, 2013).
Identification and analyses of the negative and positive impacts of tourism activity on
the host community at the location
Tourism can influence the local community of the region in a positive or negative way. The
positive impact can be:

1. Large investments: To improve the tourism, large amount of investment is done to
enhance the infrastructure, safeguard the local heritage and culture and to provide better
facilities which helps to increase the education level of the local community. It also helps to
increase leisure facilities thus providing a better lifestyle to the local people (Selvakumar and
Thangaraju, 2016).
2. Generation of employment opportunities in the area: The local community is
benefited by the exposure which it gets by interaction with the travelers. They socialize with
individuals belonging to various cultures and in this way, various employment opportunities
are generated. The local community does not have to migrate to the other places to earn their
livelihood (Gupta and Gwal, 2018).
The negative impact of tourism can be:
1. Poor sanitation facilities: The heavy traffic in the region may not allow the
infrastructure to be capable enough to deal with overcrowded city thereby resulting in poor
sanitation facilities. It may give birth to various types of diseases for the local community as
well as tourists.
2. Interference of the outsiders in the local culture: The interference of the tourists in
the native culture may generate disturbance amongst the local community. It may lead to
loss of local traditions and beliefs.
The civilians may engage into criminal activities to make easy money from the travellers
which may lead to increase in the corruption and loss of religious values (Batta, 2016).
3. Interference with the natural surroundings: Any kind of growth may lead to
interference with the nature. This may damage flora and fauna. In order to develop the
coastal areas, the local people are asked to leave their place. Furthermore, with the
development and growth of the area, there is a depletion of the natural resources (Malra,
2015).
4. Problem of waste disposal: Due to lack of proper measures to dispose the waste, the
ecological balance of the area is disturbed. It may also be due to more transport and noise
and increased pollution in the area.
Identification and discussion of the four (4) policy implications to achieve sustainable
tourism outcomes for the destination
Sustainable tourism pertains to managing all the assets in such a way that the social, aesthetic
and economic necessities are satisfied thereby preserving the biological diversity, cultural
integrity, ecological processes and life support systems of the place. The policy implications
to accomplish viable tourism outcomes for Nainital are as follows:

Firstly, for encouraging sustainable tourism, a movement known as ‘Mission Butterfly ‘was
initiated in this regard. It is a solid waste management program promoted for the whole of
life management of the solid waste materials. The strategies for the recycling and
minimization of the waste would be formulated by the local families of the area (Mamhoori,
2015).
The crucial features of the scheme are the employment of the women health workers, the
garbage collectors and the provisions of the various mechanisms of waste management and
services related to support and training. In this way, income generation occurs from
households, hotels and the sale of compost, shredded paper and recyclable waste thereby
helping the local community to generate income as well as assisting in the maintenance of
sustainable environment (Kumar and Garg, 2015).
Secondly, in the tourism context, the policies related to sustainability act as a key driver for
the public policy development. As per OECD (2017) the government should stimulate
environmentally sustainable growth and support to promote economic growth, quality jobs
and prosperity for the region.
Thirdly, the policies related to the tourism promotion and creation of values base on
comparative advantages, high quality tourism offerings and management of natural and
cultural resources should be the main goal of the government.
Fourthly, tourism should be used as an engine for growth and to lessen the adverse impact on
the local community and to spread the benefits to local community of the region (UNWTO,
2017).