Tourism Planning and Development in South Asia (CABI Regional Tourism Series)

Tourism has huge significance as a global economic and social phenomenon, and given the growing reliance on the industry by service dependent economies around the world, the lack of focus on tourism planning and development in the South Asian area is surprising. Current issues including social, environmental and cultural aspects underpinned by security challenges have defined the tourism development narratives in many South Asian countries over the last decades leading to fluid demand and supply patterns. Appetite and reliance for tourism growth is seen regardless of trepidation and numerous challenges. Despite a rich and steady history of tourism demand driven by pull destinations, most South Asian countries have not invested or benefited from global tourism growth trends. This book discusses tourism planning and development in the various South Asian countries and identifies the key impacts and current challenges. The country-focused chapters demonstrate a wide-range of experiences and challenges, while revealing successful and unsuccessful stories. Written by scholars with extensive research experience on tourism in these countries, the book provides thorough analyses of the nature and focus on tourism development in South Asia. It is a source of much needed documentation and provides details of great value to researchers, policy makers and other tourism stakeholders. Cover Tourism Planning and Development in South Asia Copyright Contents Contributors Contributors’ Biographies Introduction Note References 1 A Case Study on Impacts of Community Participation in Tourism Planning and Destination Management in Kerala, India Introduction 1.1 Background 1.1.1 Review of literature 1.1.2 Brief description of the case study area 1.1.3 Role of responsible tourism in Kerala 1.2 Research Methodology 1.3 Findings of the Case Study 1.3.1 Local community development and women’s empowerment 1.3.2 Leadership and community participation with innovative activities 1.3.3 Employment generation for local people 1.3.4 Better strategic plans to create demand for local products in the tourism industry 1.3.5 Encouraging sustainable practices Discussion and Conclusions References 2 Planning Agritourism Development in Sri Lanka: Farmers’ Incentives and Barriers Introduction 2.1 Literature Review 2.1.1 Agritourism 2.1.2 Agritourism farms, farmers and resources 2.1.3 Agritourism incentives and barriers to participate 2.2 Sri Lankan Agritourism 2.3 Method 2.4 Results 2.4.1 Descriptive analysis 2.4.2 Factor analysis 2.4.3 Regression analysis 2.5 Planning Agritourism Development Conclusions References 3 History of Tourism Planning and Development in Nepal: Achievements and Challenges to Sustainable Future of Tourism Introduction 3.1 Background 3.1.1 Origins and significance of sustainable development 3.1.2 Emergence of sustainable tourism development 3.1.3 Origin of alternative forms of sustainable tourism development Community-based tourism Pro-poor tourism Ecotourism 3.2 History of Tourism Planning and Development in Nepal 3.3 Major Achievements in Tourism Development in Nepal 3.4 Nepalese Experience in Sustainable Tourism Development 3.4.1 Mountain tourism 3.4.2 Village tourism/homestay as a form of community-based tourism 3.4.3 Pro-poor tourism: a case study 3.4.4 Nature-based tourism 3.5 Challenges in Sustainable Tourism Development 3.6 Future Directions towards Sustainable Tourism Development 3.6.1 Need for infrastructure development for tourism diversification 3.6.2 Need for understanding the tourism markets 3.6.3 Need for promotion beyond limited predictable destinations 3.6.4 Need for an effective and integrated approach to tourism development 3.6.5 Need for an aggressive and outcome-oriented destination marketing organization Conclusions References 4 Tourism in Afghanistan Introduction 4.1 Country Background and Tourism Development 4.2 Importance of Tourism for the Economy 4.2.1 Private sector 4.2.2 The role of the government 4.3 Afghan Government Policy for Tourism 4.4 Contemporary Developments since 2001 4.5 Issues and Challenges for Tourism Development 4.5.1 Visas and costs 4.5.2 Fee to visit historic sites Conclusions Acknowledgements References 5 Planning for Sustainable Tourism Development in Bhutan Introduction 5.1 Tourism in Bhutan 5.2 Methodology 5.3 Findings 5.3.1 Food sourcing 5.3.2 Human resources 5.3.3 Handicrafts/souvenirs 5.3.4 Transportation 5.4 Discussion Conclusions References 6 Tourism Policy Planning in Bangladesh: Perspective and Propositions Introduction 6.1 Tourism Policy Planning 6.1.1 A theoretical overview Governance Power relations Role identification Relevant policy considerations Sustainability and relevant concerns Collaboration and partnership Policy outcome consideration 6.1.2 Policy instruments 6.1.3 Tourism policy planning and organizational involvement 6.1.4 Policy implementation 6.1.5 Bangladesh tourism policy 6.2 Methodology 6.3 Findings and Analysis 6.3.1 Effectiveness of the present tourism policy in Bangladesh 6.3.2 Tourism policy instruments in Bangladesh 6.3.3 Tourism policy planning implementation 6.3.4 Tourism policy planning organizational involvement 6.3.5 Bangladesh tourism policy discussions Priorities in tourism policy in Bangladesh Respondent suggestions for tourism policy in Bangladesh Conclusion and Recommendations References 7 Tourism Development and its Impact on Economic Growth in Pakistan Introduction 7.1 Tourism Development in Pakistan 7.1.1 Key tourist attractions in Pakistan 7.1.2 Tourism in Pakistan 7.2 Methodology 7.2.1 Variables measurement and sources 7.3 Analysis of Findings Conclusions Notes References 8 The Role of International Tourism in the Maldives Introduction 8.1 Evolution of Tourism in Maldives 8.1.1 Hotels and accommodation 8.1.2 Tourism planning and development in Maldives 8.2 Testing the Economic Impact of Tourism for Maldives 8.2.1 Methodology and data 8.2.2 Empirical results Conclusions References Conclusion Index Back Cover Tourism has huge significance as a global economic and social phenomenon, and given the growing reliance on the industry by service-dependent economies around the world, the lack of focus on tourism planning and development in South Asia is surprising. Current issues including social, environmental and cultural aspects underpinned by security challenges have defined the tourism development narratives in many South Asian countries over the last decades and lead to fluid demand and supply patterns. The appetite for and reliance on tourism growth is seen regardless of the numerous challenges faced by the region. Despite a rich and steady history of tourism and demand driven by numerous pull-destinations, most South Asian countries have not invested or benefitted from global tourism growth trends. This book discusses tourism planning and development in South Asian countries and reveals successful and unsuccessful stories by: providing thorough analyses of the nature and focus on tourism development in South Asia; analysing the experiences and challenges addressed via country-focused chapters; identifying the key impacts and current challenges; including cases from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and more. Written by scholars with extensive research experience on tourism in these countries, this book is a much-needed resource and an invaluable reference for researchers, policy makers and other tourism stakeholders involved in tourism planning and development. Introduction / Boopen Seetanah -- A Case Study on Impacts of Community Participation in Tourism Planning and Destination Management in Kerala, India -- Planning Agritourism Development in Sri Lanka: Farmers' Incentives and Barriers -- History of Tourism Planning and Development in Nepal: Achievements and Challenges to Sustainable Future of Tourism -- Tourism in Afghanistan -- Planning for Sustainable Tourism Development in Bhutan -- Tourism Policy Planning in Bangladesh: Perspective and Propositions -- Tourism Development and its impact on Economic Growth in Pakistan -- The Role of International Tourism in the Maldives "Presents key issues of tourism planning and development in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan, and Bhutan. Demonstrates experiences, challenges, successful and unsuccessful stories and specific cases of countries within South Asia. Written by scholars with extensive research experience on tourism in these countries"-- Provided by publisher