Present And Past Scenario Of Tourism Industry In Jammu And Kashmir State.

ABSTRACT

*Dr Amrik Singh Sudan

** Prof. RohiniGupta Suri

***Dr Seema Bhasin Chhabra

Tourism in today’s world is a very big economic and social activity, generating a large amount of income employment and foreign currency and investment opportunities. Though currently, the developed nations are getting the lion’s share of the benefit of tourism, there is a promising future for the developing nations also. The contribution of tourism towards socio-economic development and environmental conversation is immense.

The growth and unprecedented boom in travel industry has been incredible, but definitely not sudden. There has been a consistent growth pattern in the travel industry. World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) states, that India will emerge as the second fastest growing tourism economy globally between 2005 and 2014 followed by china. Successful promotions such as Ministry of Tourism Incredible India‘s multi-media campaign and the budget travel boom are to have contributed to the tourism gold rush. India earned Rs 296035 crore through tourism in 2006 and Rs 5040320 crores in 2011. Economies of the world are changing at an alarming rate. Europe and America are growing way to shift of wealth power to china, India and Far East.

Despite the immense tourism potential in Jammu and Kashmir, it has got the right share in tourism. The Political instability and the ongoing militancy /disturbance is the main hurdle in the way of tourism promotion. Advertisiting, publicity, policy of the state government, lack of proper funds and above all lack of professionalism in Jammu and Kashmir State are the other main reasons for the slow growth of tourism. The State Government has created number of Tourism Development Authorities for integrated development of tourist destinations in the state, but none of these authorities are headed by personnel’s trained in tourism management. In fact, the department of Tourism and the J&K State Tourism Corporation limited needs to formulate and implement a proper tourism policy and plan with an integrated tourism marketing effort for the promotion of tourism in the state. In this paper we have suggested two sets of measures one, Operational Measures and Secondly, Operative measures to synergise the tempo of pilgrimage tourism development in Jammu and Kashmir State.

*P.G Dept of Commerce. University of Jammu, Jammu, J&K State.

** Coordinator Commerce Courses, DDE, University of Jammu, Jammu, J&K State.

***Asst. Prof. Home science, DDE, University of Jammu, Jammu, J&K State.

INTRODUCTION

Tourism in today’s world is a very big economic and social activity, generating a large amount of income employment and foreign currency and investment opportunities. Though currently, the developed nations are getting the lion’s share of the benefit of tourism, there is a promising future for the developing nations also. The contribution of tourism towards socio-economic development and environmental conversation is immense.

The growth and unprecedented boom in travel industry has been incredible, but definitely not sudden. There has been a consistent growth pattern in the travel industry. World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) states that India will emerge as the second fastest growing tourism economy globally between 2005 and 2014 followed by china. Successful promotions such as Ministry of Tourism Incredible India‘s multi-media campaign and the budget travel boom are to have contributed to the tourism gold rush. India earned Rs 296035 crore through tourism in 2006 and Rs 5040320 crores in 2011. Economies of the world are changing at an alarming rate. Europe and America are growing way to shift of wealth power to china, India and Far East.

Tourism along with travel is now regarded as the world’s fastest growing industry. Tourism and Hospitality sector is amongst largest job producers around the globe. It is that investment sector which pushes the nations economically without any huge investments. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 940 million International tourists spent US$919 billion in 2010 and the first two months of 2011 saw a healthy growth of 5% over the same months as compared with the previous year . It is thus, widely recognized that tourism is globally one of the largest industries and the top generator of foreign exchange earnings for many of the world’s economies. Recent statistics issued by the world Travel and tourism Council (WTTC) clearly show the importance and size of the tourism and hospitality industry with over 235 million jobs , 650000alone at the managerial levels , hospitality today definitely is one of the fastest growing industries in the world with a gross Domestic Product (GDP) of just over 9% in 2009 and an annual growth of 4.45 , the tourism and hospitality industry contributes billion of dollars to the global economy . Looking beyond the current economic outlook , the industry is expected to resume its leading , dynamic role in global growth into consideration the world’s leading tourism and hospitality . Companies are looking for skilled professional to become tomorrow’s leaders.

Tourism sector provides a wide range of career opportunities both at home and overseas in many and varied industry sectors such as tour operators , Airlines , tourist attractions and hotel groups . On the other hand , hospitality industry is in continuous need of managerial staff in hotel management , restaurant management , public house management , night club management , and even includes working on cruise liners and theme parks . Both the industries are truly international with career opportunities at home and abroad. Furthermore, the events industry is flourishing and the management of events has become increasingly important within the hospitality, tourism, leisure and

sports Sectors. Event managers can be found working on a range of events from weddings to conferences, meetings to product launches, at festivals and major sporting occasions. Some high profile events include the Olympic Games , the commonwealth games .ICC cricket world cup , Grand prix , FIFA World Cup , etc.

Tourism has been traditionally viewed as a great force in promoting understanding among nations and within the national boundaries facilitating emotional integration . Tourism is the movement of people from their normal place of residence and work , for a period of less than twenty four hours and not exceeding a year . Tourism is the most important industry in our economy without chimneys. Over the past three decades tourism has emerged as the world’s largest industry. Tourism is one of the most important items of exports. It is well said by Husker and Kraft , “Tourism is the sum of the phenomenon and relationship arising from the travel and residents in so far as it does lead to permanent residence and is connected to any earning activity . Today , we all know about the tourism but before the independence , in India tourism industry was not promoted by the Britishers, but soon after independence , the importance of tourism was felt vigorously by the Indian government . They set up a committee under the committee under the chairmanship of Sir John Sergent. This committee submitted its report in 1948. It was thought at that time, it was beneficial for India to encourage and develop the tourist traffic by all means. A small tourist section was set up in ministry of transport in 1948. A separate department was set up early in 1958 which is called as department of Tourism. Tourism at that time was a new activity for India. Its importance was not realized by the people and government. This was so because the scope of tourism was low. There was not proper infrastructure such as the number of hotels was very less. There were no proper means of accommodation of the tourists. Same was the case of transport also. But now a day’s people have realized the importance and value of tourism and the economic benefits of the tourism. In India now tourism industry is developing a lot and this has increased the nation’s income also.

The international nodal agency for tourism i.e. United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) gives the definitions for tourism as “tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in place outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure , business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within place visited . As far as the tourism - international and national scenario is concerned , it is the sector which is growing at a rapid rate especially from the last two decades . As per Travel and Tourism competitiveness Report 2009 by the world economic reform , India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall on the list of the world ‘s attractive destinations while the Indian Travel and Tourism Industry is ranked 5th in the long term (10 years ) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019 . In India , tourism is viewed and promoted as a “ development paradigm ”by the governments and it also considered as a major sector for economic as well as social growth .

No doubt that tourism plays its role as backbone for most of the countries but one cannot ignore the adverse impacts of tourism on the environment and the socio-cultural . Moreover, several tourism destinations’ are facing increasing pressures on their social and economic structures as well as their natural environments. Although , tourism sector can generate high income and is known for its

multiplier effects but inflation and economic leakages also come along with it . To earn the high economic yield from tourism, its infrastructural and super-structural impacts are underestimated. In our country, tourism heavily flourishes on environmental and natural resources, besides, the bio-diversity. The primary responsibility should be to protect these bio-diverse places.

Ecotourism is the vital type of tourism while the term “eco-tourism” was given by a marketing agency that was promoting Costa –Rica as a rainforest destination way back in the early 1970’s, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)has seen ecotourism as a niche market . The several international and national organizations see ecotourism as sustainable development and it also helps to ensure the sustainable and responsible use of environmental and natural resources. Ecotourism has been formulated and studied as instrument for sustainable and equitable tourism by various international organizations like United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and united Nations Environmental Programme(UNEP).The International Ecotourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people .”In India , eco-tourism also means to protect areas of ecological values like the national parks , wildlife sanctuaries etc. and in short it assumes as “ nature based tourism ‘ which include both sustainable and responsible tourism. In our country , there is a conflict between tourism ,community and conservation because of the motive of high –income generation attitude of tourism service providers . They are less concerned with practicing the concept of sustainable and responsible tourism development. Basically tourism is linked to people and heavily rely on them for their overall survival and hence the role of local community is vital. The immediate need to minimize the social impact and environment impact should be prioritized by the authorities so that there should be no hurdle between practicing the responsible tourism.

Human Capital and Tourism Sector: People are clearly fundamental to the sufficient operation and further development of the tourism industry .Many tourism products include people as a primary part of the proficiency offered whether as performers or as members of the cultural environment . There is a growing realization that labour should not be treated simply as variable costs but as human capital. A high quality skilled workforce will ensure greater competitiveness and innovations, improve job prospects and ease the process of adjustment in changing markets . There is the commonly acknowledged proposition that economic prosperity depends on an educated workforce . It is also agreed that the increasing recognition of the economic importance of tourism itself has lent further prominence to the necessity for an expansion of tourism education . The competitive advantage of countries in a global economy increasingly depends on the availability of skilled labour . This is also true for the tourism related industries. Therefore, the structure of and focus on (public and private) educational and vocational provisions are important issues.

A primary concern is that a lack of suitable staff will change the industry ‘s capacity to meet the expectations of service quality that tourism promotions have created . The demand for tourism services to meet international standards has led to an increasing trend to employ a highly skilled labour force and although human resources are the most valuable asset of these industries paradoxically , the will to invest in education and training in some of the major sectors is comparatively low , compared with other industries . However, upgrading human resources and techniques, as well as

improving management skills are essential requirement for the further development of the tourism industry.

Now let us talk about tourism and tourism industry in Jammu region as we know Jammu is popular in allover India as “City of Temples “. The city is located on the bank of river tawi. This land is also known as “Duggar ”and the people here are known as Dogras . We are aware that natural beauty of the vale of Jammu has deservedly won high praise from travelers. In a kind of historical spectrum in tourism , we have quoted enough in substance from accounts of travelers on the bewitching valley to show how the lovers of beauty not only adored the bounties that nature lavished on Jammu but found these a theme of literature. Now, we will throw light upon some famous tourist places of Jammu region. In Jammu region, the most famous historical place is Bahu City on a Hillock on the eastern bank of river Tawi. It was rebuilt by Maharaja Gulab Singh and served as a garrison for Dogra Army.

The Famous temple of Bawey Wali Mata is inside the fort; where on every Tuesday and Sunday pilgrim go to worship Goddess Kali. A little farther away, on hill top, opposite the bahu fort, is a lovely spot overlooking the river tawi , where a temple dedicated to Mahamaya has been constructed but people know less about this temple . Now, there one more attractive spot which is called the Amar Mahal. It is the most valuable monument of Jammu. Once the presidential palace of Raja Amar Singh, it possesses a 120 kg golden throne. Amar commands an excellent view of the city and its surroundings now houses, a rare collection of pahari paintings, a family portrait gallery and a rich library. It is the tallest structure of the city. There are famous Raghunath Mandir and Ranweshwar Mandir in the city. Then there is also a popular site which is called as Mansar lake . About 62 kilometeres away from Jammu city. Abeautiful lake covered by forest and hills . Boating facilities are available on the spot . Every year around Baisakhi , a foodcraft festival is organized here by Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department . Then there is also an other popular site known as Surisar Lake which is 45Km away from Jammu . Then comes Behr Devta , who owes its origin to the great service rendered by him to the people of jammu town and saved them snake bites and scorpio during the region of Raja Jas Dev(1020 AD to 1053 AD).

Another important and famous religious and tourist place in Jammu region are :-

1. Gurudwara ,Nangali Sahib,Poonch.2. ShivKhoriMandir near (Reasi)3. Baba Dhansar Mandir near (Reasi)4. Gurudwara,Baba Banda Singh Bhadur near (Reasi)5. Ghar Jitto 6. Gurudwara,Baba Sunder Singh ji near Akhnoor.7. Other tourist places are Kudh , Patni Top , Sanasar Batote , SudhMahadev and Jhajjer Kotli.

Apart from these 48 KM from jammu , the Shrine of the godess Vaishno devi is one of the most important tourist attractions in Jammu and Kashmir . It is considered one of the most sacred places of workship among the Hindus. A pilgrimage to the holy Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi ji considered to be one of the holiest pilgrimages of our times popularly the world over as Mooh Mangeya Muradein Poori karne wali mata , which means the mother who fulfills

whatever her children wish for . Shri Mata Vaishno Deviji resides in holy cave located in the folsdsof the three peaked mountain named Trikuta Hills . The cave attracts Lakhs of Devotees every year . Inside the cave of Trikuta Bhagwati are the images of Mata Vaishno Devi ji , Mata Saraswati, Maha laxmi . The following table shows the annual yatra to Shiri vaishno Devi Shrine figures over the years ranging from 2000 to 2011.

Table : Number of inflow Tourist / Pilgrimages visiting Shri Mata Vaishno Devi ji Shrine , Katra.

Source: Directorate of Tourism, Jammu.

In Jammu , a two day workshop from April 6 to 7, 2011 , on topic , ‘practicing Responsible Tourism “ was organized jointly by Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) J&K TOURISM Department and world wide Fund (WWF)Green Hiker and it supported by Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA), India chapter on the first day of the workshop , the people from central and state tourism ministry highlighted the importance of responsible and sustainable tourism and also discussed the role of ecotourism in it . This step was within our region to sensitize the people regarding the ill effects of tourism and the ways to minimize these effects for better green full tomorrow. Several academicians, experts’ scholars and students within and outside the state attended this workshop. The next two workshops will be organized in Srinagar / Kashmir and Leh region in near future to aware the local people regarding the importance of conversation of biodiversity.

There is direct relationship between tourism and ecotourism and the survival of both depends on each other. The tourism industry can highly contribute in sustaining the ecotourism and if ecotourism will flourish , the tourism will also flourish , in short both complement each other perfectly .

The need of the hour is to educate the local communities as well as the tourists, service providers, consumers and the people on in decision making seats. Students who study in the schools regarding the benefits of practicing the responsible environment practices .It is high time to act now and do some constructive work and try to contribute in sustaining the environment.

S.No. Year No. of Yatries (in Lakhs )1 2000 52.172 2001 50.573 2002 44.324 2003 54.005 2004 61.006 2005 62.52 7 2006 69.508 2007 74.179 2008 67.9210 2009 76.2711 2010 82.2212 2011 92.97

Tourism Action Plan For Jammu and Kashmir:

To synergise th tempo of pilgrimage tourism development in Jammu and Kashmir , two set of measures are suggested –Operational measures and Operative Measures.

A)OPERATIONAL MEASURES: The operational measures revolve around the problems . Among them the foremost is the dilapidated condition of the infrastructure. It is suggested that the Government , private sector , the local bodies , the Non-Governmental Organizations((NGOA’S) and the local people should make concerted efforts to create the required infrastructure keeping in view the projections for the future inflow of the tourist in the state. There is a need for the creation of infrastructure in the form of roads, public conveniences, transport, accommodation, etc. Since , both domestic and international Tourist / pilgrims have the potential for growth , efforts ought to be made to create such infrastructure which is in conformity with the capacity to pay and the level of living standards of the tourist /pilgrims ,coming from different parts of the world .

Simultaneously, while designing the infrastructure, the environment of the state should not be disturbed. In other words, the whole of the state should not look like a concrete jungle.

Equally important is the creation of services in the form of uninterrupted electricity, streetlights, safe drinking water, proper sanitation etc. The condition of these essential services is deplorable at present in whole of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). It becomes , therefore , imperative that sufficient provision in budget ought to be made so that the level of these services could be improved on was footing . Unless these steps are taken, the country may be deprived of the growing inflow of International tourist / pilgrims visiting the state.

The rush of the tourist /pilgrims has encouraged irresponsible and greedy businessmen to create disorganized and shabby structures to accommodate the tourists/ pilgrims, especially during the peak seasons. This has created the problems of congestion, insanitation and other problems of typical urban environment. These problems have taken away the very essence and spirit of the places like Katra, Jammu, etc. .

The Government , local bodies , the private sector , the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’S)and the local people should make a united efforts to improve the ecology and the environment of the state . They should start with the aforestation programme which ought to be followed by the other efforts to ensure that the water bodies do not get polluted by the filth and the garbage which is coming from the drains .

It is suggested that a study of the environmental impact of the tourism in the state may be undertaken to know the carrying capacity of the places in terms of the capacity of the public

amenities and the utilities, the ecology of the locus, or the capacity of the people to live a life of comfort and dignity in their own cultural and social milieu.

Since tourism has been declared as an industry by the Jammu and Kashmir state Government, it becomes necessary to take the prerequisite steps to regulate the functioning of this industry. For this purpose, the following steps are suggested:-

Restructuring of tourism related laws in the light of the present day needs so that the tourists could be provided with the required safety and other forms of protection during the course of their stay in the state. This will ensure dispensing with the activities of touts, middlemen and the irresponsible element among service providers who fleece tourists/ pilgrims.

In the operational stage of tourism development, there is a need for a systems approach in managing tourism development. For this purpose , it is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that any tourist who lands in the state does not face any problems during the course of his stay in this region .

It is suggested that some exposure , if not training be provided to different groups of local people like the pujaris of temple s, police personnel , drivers , dhaba owners , etc. on selective basis regarding inter-personal behavior so that they could interact with the tourists in a healthy manner . The services of the Non-Governmental Organizations may be obtained to provide this exposure. The selective group so exposed will provide the spread effect among their colleagues.

The paying guest accommodations should be encouraged. The locals may be provided finance to create better facilities of accommodation at their places for the tourists/ pilgrims.

The important component of the systems model is the law and order machinery of which police is the most important component. Apart from the deployment of police for maintaining law and order, there is need for strengthening the hands of the “tourist police”, to help the tourist in overcoming the problems faced by them and to curb tourism related crimes. The duties of the tourist police will include guiding tourists politely and taking care of their security.

B) OPERATIVE MEASURES: The operative measures include three important components:

Strategy for Tourism Development. Creation of Jammu and Kashmir State Tourism Development Board. Creation of three independent boards in all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Strategy indicates the long term goals and objectives, adoption of alternative course of action and the deployment of resources to achieve the desired objective. The long –term goals and objectives of the strategy are to develop the whole of the Jammu and Kashmir State tourism. Creation of a Jammu and Kashmir State Tourism Development Board will be the first step.The work of restructuring the whole of Jammu and Kashmir State should be entrusted to this board which would be a qualified body of town planners, architects and consultants. The Board will incorporate within its purview all areas of Jammu and Kashmir. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE IMPLICATIONS:

Tourism in today’s world over is very big economic and social activity , generating a large / huge amount of income , employment and foreign exchange and investment opportunities . Though , currently , the developed nation ‘s are getting the lion’s share of the benefit of tourism , there is a promising future for the developing nations also . Despite the immense tourism potential in Jammu and Kashmir, it has got the right share in tourism. The Political instability and the ongoing militancy /disturbance is the main hurdle in the way of tourism promotion. Advertisiting, publicity, policy of the state government, lack of proper funds and above all lack of professionalism in Jammu and Kashmir State are the other main reasons for the slow growth of tourism. The State Government has created number of Tourism Development Authorities for integrated development of tourist destinations in the state, but none of these authorities are headed by personnel’s trained in tourism management. In fact, the department of Tourism and the J&K State Tourism Corporation limited needs to formulate and implement a proper tourism policy and plan with an integrated tourism marketing effort for the promotion of tourism.

However , if Jammu and Kashmir State has achieve its objective to attract more and more tourists both domestic and international then the pre-requisition for its implementation of tourism policies with support and coordination from all segments like , central , State Government Department of tourism Development Authorities and Travel and Trade Organizations both in public as well as private sector . With the growing recognition of the importance of responding to contemporary tourism and hospitality students needs, there is a growing body of education focused literature documenting the development and implementation of innovative pedagogical approaches for studying in tourism and hospitality sector . Empirical research highlight the commitment of educators to develop sound , academically rigorous , innovative and perhaps even entertaining lectures and case studies . Moreover , a key feature of the tourism industry is that of the extent and pace of change patterns of consumption , technological change and supply innovations in tourism as elsewhere are in constant state of change which means education must evolve with industry changes by

incorporating a lifelong learning approach to tourism education with tourism now established as one of the principal global industries the need for an effective and industry relevant tourism education framework that captures and utilizes latest pedagogical as well as business trends to underpin the industry ‘s development is of paramount importance . Education is considered by many as a vital determinant of success choosing what to study and where , is one of the most important decisions a person will make as it will steer and ensure a successful that will last many years. If someone is looking for a career that offers travel , varied challengers and they enjoy working with people then gaining a degree in tourism or hotel management field could be beneficial for them .

The hoteliers are genuinely aggrieved over the apathetic attitude of the concerned authorities for neglecting tourists spots in jammu . The Jammu landscape is as beautiful as any scenic spot in the state. Some of these scenic spots figure prominently on the tourist map only because they are being promoted by the government , while other have remained neglected and underdeveloped .There are many beautiful places in Kishtwar , Bhaderwah , Rajouri , , poonch , Reasi ,Ramban ,Udhampur , Kathua , Basoli , Billawar ,Akhnoor and Sunderbani in Jammu region which is given proper publicity will definitely turn out to be famous tourist spots . Not only has that Jammu had great potential for heritage tourism. There are many places , forts and historical buildings which can attract tourists , historians and art lovers . These places need to be developed and given wide publicity through electronic and print media. Small exhibitions showcasing these aspects of life need to be held in different parts of the country in general and the Jammu and Kashmir State in particular.

Man has always shown keen interest in tourism from early times. In fact, man has always been able to spare sometime to move to other places and gain satisfaction.

Tourism comes in many forms but interactive tourism has gained momentum in today’s age. The conception of this form of tourism is quite broad. In this form of tourism, people do not normally visit the monuments and other scenic reports, but instead a lot of time in the outskirts of places. They generally visit the villages of those areas. They stay in the homes of villagers and live there as members of the family. In this process, tourists include languages, mode of dress, eating habits and many of the aspects. Thus, a interaction tourism they enrich their knowledge about the culture of other people.

In our state such an interactive tourism is flourishing in villages of Ladhakh region. This has benefitted many villages in respect of their economic condition. Another benefit of this tourism is that tourists are educating people in different spheres. Man tourist even attend classes in schools for months together and help in improving the standard of instructional process .

In near future , interactive tourism has lot of scope in our state and is proving to be very useful for the local populace . No wonder , that tourism in Jammu region because of the natural beauty , has become an important industry vital for the economy of the state .

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