Existential Reflections on Leisure-Tourism-Environment Interface: A Case Study of Uttarakhand State in India

The existence of scenic and cultural attractions in any region provides golden opportunity for economic development.  Attractions bearing mythological and religious significance promise all the more monetary gains especially in a country like India where religion has a stronghold. However, promoting tourism without thoroughly understanding the interconnections which make up the region’s ecology can be disastrous. The recent tragedy that hit the holy shrine at Kedarnath in Uttarakhand has triggered a crisis of faith on one hand and rekindled the development debate on the other. The Himalayan state while zealously centrestaging tourism to catalyse economic development completely ignored the carrying capacity thresholds and sidelined the environmental and zoning regulations which ultimately jeopardized the exotic environment which sustains it. The June deluge left thousands of tourists stranded in the valley created panic and disenchantment amongst the tourists giving a great blow to tourism. Now grave concerns are being shown for its revival as the livelihood of a large number of regional population depends on the tourism sector. As part of reconstruction plan visitors are being exhorted to contribute their part by visiting safer places in Uttarakhand. Therefore, it becomes pertinent to review the current tourism with a sustainable perspective. The present paper examines the dynamics of the relationship between local people, sacred landscape and the tourism industry in the Himalayan state. It seeks to explore the shift in the profile of tourists and patterns of tourism in this region and offers reflections on how the edifice of tourism collapses under its own burden if it is devoid of tourist ethics and proper planning. Further, it emphasizes that in ecologically vulnerable systems, tourism cannot be encouraged only as an economic activity but as a cultural activity forging sustainable bonds with the sacred sites, sensitive landscapes and local folks.