ASSIGNMENT 2

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (PGDTEL)

MAY 2017-18 Dear Participant, Assignments are a part of your continuous evaluation process. The main purpose of assignment is to test your comprehension of the study material received from us and also to help you understand the course aspects. Participants must submit a total of five assignments, one for each theory Course. Submission of Assignment:

• The submissions link has not been functioning properly. • Kindly send your assignments in to the following email ID:

celwwfindia@gmail.com

Kindly fill in all the particulars i.e. name, email address, enrolment number, course name and document name in the body of the email. Once you have emailed in the assignment, you will be given a reply acknowledging receipt of your assignment within the next couple of days. Each course shall have one assignment and will carry 40% weightage while 60% weightage is given to the term-end examinations. The assignment has to be submitted within a certain time span (see time-line for details of submission dates). It is very important to submit the assignments as per indicated dates, as late submission would lead to negative marking. Your answers should be within the approximate range of the word-limit set for each question. You will find that the questions in the assignments are analytical and descriptive so that you can better understand and comprehend the concepts. All the best. Course Coordinators CEL and NLU-D

ASSIGNMENT 2 COURSE II – TOURISM DESTINATIONS

Refer to the timeline for submission date

Total Marks: 40 The word limits and marks allocated to each question are mentioned after the question.

1. Religious tourism forms a major portion of the tourism sector in India today. Some of the largest such destinations also happen to be in ecologically sensitive areas, such as the various religious shrines and destinations in the state of Uttarakhand. The Char Dham Yatra, for instance, puts serious pressure on the tourism infrastructure of the Garhwal region. This pressure, coupled with the monsoons and infrastructure development in and around the shrines, has led to landslides, which threaten valuable human lives. In addition to this, such ‘development’ also has the potential to upset the ecological balance of these areas, which may lead to further challenges in the future. Considering that large sections of the local population depend on the tourism sector for their livelihoods, a growth in the number of tourists has historically been seen to be beneficial for the immediate economic interests of local people. On the flip side, the ever-growing pressures on the local ecology and the growing scale of natural disasters in the area also have the potential to drive tourists away in the future and erode any financial gains made in the lead up to this. What steps can be taken to achieve a balance between the promotion of religious tourism, and preservation of the ecological balance in the state of Uttarakhand?

(10 marks, 600 words)

2. The Ajanta-Ellora caves near Aurangabad in Maharashtra are some of the best examples of India’s rich history. Rock cut monastery-temple complexes; they are about 2500 years old and contain some wonderful examples of the art and architecture of the time. However, since they attract so many visitors, there is also constant damage to the caves from the thousands of people who visit every day. A few years ago, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) decided to

take action to protect the caves, and sanctioned copies of caves to be made at a cost of several crore rupees. It was believed that building such replicas would reduce the footfall to the actual caves and help with easier maintenance. However, unlike the intended use, the replica caves have turned out to be an abysmal failure. Part of the reason is because they are located too close to the actual caves, thus motivating people to visit the actual caves as opposed to the replicas. They are also a constant drain on the exchequer and by some estimates cost more than the actual caves to maintain. Taking this as a case study, kindly research further and answer the following questions. Kindly cite your sources of research while answering.

i) From the perspective of both increasing tourism and conserving the actual cave, highlight some of the major mistakes made with the project and explain why you think these replica caves were a failure. What do you think needed to be done differently in order for such replica caves to be a successful part of the tourism industry?

ii) Having too many tourists visiting can be detrimental to several tourism destinations. This serves up a situation where the development of tourism appears to be facing a ‘lose-lose’ situation. Not having enough tourists visiting can result in too little revenue for those in tourism industry, but having too many visiting can cause irreparable damage to the attractions that draw tourists in the first place. This is the case with Ajanta-Ellora amongst several other spots. The constant flashing of cameras, the hordes of people who walk through the caves every day, the chances of vandalism, all contribute to chances that these fragile artworks may be destroyed, and that this may lead to lower numbers of tourists actually visiting the caves.

Do you think it is necessary to limit the numbers of tourists visiting some of these ‘must-see’ destinations? What steps can be taken to maintain a balance between encouraging tourists to visit, and ensuring that their activities do not damage the very destinations that draw them to visit?

(10 marks each, 600 words each)

3. Please write short notes on the following: i) The value of advertisement, publicity and marketing in the

development of tourism.

ii) The various stakeholders in tourism activities and the role

played by each stakeholder. (5 marks each, 300 words each)