Sustainable tourism in india

Sustainable tourism in India

Himani Kaul and Shivangi Gupta

HP Labs Open Innovation Office, Gurgaon, India

Abstract

Purpose – The paper aims to provide a holistic perspective on various dimensions of sustainable

tourism. The discussion with key practitioners authenticates the issues that have already been identified.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines analysis of government documents as well

as insights from practitioners. The paper discusses issues of sustainable tourism, strengths of the

industry, challenges faced and policy implications for the government.

Findings – The paper explores the economic importance of sustainable tourism by outlining the

strengths and challenges of the Indian tourism industry. The paper has implications for the government

and firms in terms of investment in hospitality education, infrastructure and better employment practices.

Practical implications – The paper provides a road map for some of the initiatives that

government and industry could adopt.

Originality/value – It combines a policy perspective for government and industry stakeholders.

Keywords Sustainable development, Tourism, Economic development, Hotels, India

Paper type Viewpoint

Empirical work in progress

This paper aims to evaluate the potential and challenges for the tourism industry in

India. Discussing the industry’s contribution to the economy, the paper also suggests

desirable policy level changes for further development. The final part of the paper

summarizes the viewpoints of the interviewees.

Approach

Policy documents from the Government of India were analysed and key issues relating

to sustainable tourism were identified. These were shared with selected practitioners

and academics. Following this, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted

with experienced hoteliers and academics in July (World Travel and Tourism Council,

2008). Questions and discussion points were circulated prior to the interview to allow

for preparation. Subsequently, individual interviews were conducted by the authors

over the phone. This was identified as the most suitable process to gather perspectives

on the factual as well as the experiential insights that the industry experts had to offer.

The concept of sustainable tourism

Liberalization, privatization and globalization has fuelled the creation of a rapidly

changing and highly competitive environment worldwide. Nations, industries and

firms are strategically working to develop sustainable competitive advantage across

sectors. Most of the developing economies are in rapid transit towards becoming

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/1755-4217.htm

The authors are grateful to Anil Kaul, Senior Vice President – Operations, Royal Orchid Hotels

and Former General Manager, The Oberoi – Mumbai. The authors would also like to extend

their thanks to Ashish Jakhanwala, General Manager – Development Accor Hotels India,

Bangladesh, Nepal and The Sri Lanka Accor Hospitality Group.

WHATT

1,1

12

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism

Themes

Vol. 1 No. 1, 2009

pp. 12-18

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

1755-4217

DOI 10.1108/17554210910949841