WHETHER YOU’RE A ROOKIE TRAVELLER or a seasoned explorer, chances are you haven’t escaped the pull of advertisements and social media posts on trekking in the Himalayas. With millions of tourists arriving in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), tour operators and hospitality businesses have their hands full with customers looking to get the most bang for their buck. However, the glossy videos and posters usually skip the mounting waste crisis in the Himalayas, and the rapid infrastructural development currently underway to facilitate the transportation of military personnel and tourists. These activities are exacerbating climate pressures in the region, now characterised by retreating glaciers, heavy rainfall and erratic snowfall. This begs the question: Can the Himalayas survive the tourism industry?
A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE
According to a 2018 NITI Aayog report, titled "Report of Working Group II: Sustainable Tourism in the Himalayan Region," tourism in the IHR was predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.9 per cent from 2013 to 2023. For the local communities who have called the place home for centuries, tourism means economic opportunities and jobs. For state governments and private entrepreneurs, it’s an opportunity to increase their revenues. The Uttarakhand government, for instance, wants tourism to make up at least 15 per cent of the state’s GDP by 2030.
This story is from the October - November 2024 edition of Outlook Traveller.
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This story is from the October - November 2024 edition of Outlook Traveller.
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Where History Meets Luxury
Murmurs Of The Past Echo Through The Corridors Of These Legendary Stays
LIFE AT THE TOP
WHILE THE GOVERNMENT READIES AMBITIOUS PLANS TO BOOST TOURISM IN THE REGION, SPITI LOCALS ARE GRAPPLING WITH CHALLENGES POSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE AND SCARCE RESOURCES
NO SCREENS NO PROBLEM
DOES TAKING A BREAK FROM YOUR PHONE OR COMPUTER GIVE YOU ANXIETY OR A RUSH OF JOY? AS MORE AND MORE INDIANS CHOOSE RELAXATION AS THEIR PRIMARY MOTIVATOR TO TRAVEL, HERE'S WHAT A DIGITAL DETOX HOLIDAY IN INDIA LOOKS LIKE
GREEN LIVING
SRINAGAR ATTRACTS HORDES OF tourists for its iconic Dal Lake, tree-lined boulevards and Mughal-era gardens resplendent with chinar trees. Now, both the \"Lake of Flowers\" and chinars are in a fight for survival as pollution from untreated sewage and unsupervised logging threatens their future.
DISCOVERING THE CAUCASIAN PEARL
BATUMI IS A GETAWAY FOR ALL SEASONS, IMPRESSING VISITORS WITH ITS QUAINT VIBE, CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE AND TRADITIONAL CUISINES
WHERE SKY MEETS SEA
ESPERANCE, ALONG THE REMOTE SOUTHERN COAST OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, IS A DESTINATION THAT REWARDS THOSE WILLING TO WANDER OFF THE BEATEN PATH
NEW FINDS IN AN ANCIENT CITY
WHILE THE GREEK ISLANDS STEAL THE LIMELIGHT, THERE'S MUCH TO.UNCOVER IN ATHENS, INCLUDING TOP-NOTCH STAYS AND LESSER-KNOWN STORIES FROM THE PAST
UNTAMED SATPURA
AN ENCHANTING BLEND OF LUXURY AND NATURE, JEHAN NUMA WILDERNESS IN CENTRAL INDIA IS WHERE ROYAL LEGACIES PROVIDE A GATEWAY TO CONSERVATION
THE JEWEL OF THE EAST
LONG BEFORE WES ANDERSON ROMANTICISED THE FICTIONAL GRAND BUDAPEST, THE GREAT EASTERN HOTEL IN KOLKATA INSPIRED NOVELS, FILMS AND OODLES OF NOSTALGIA
IN SEARCH OF THE BEST STAYS
MARK WONG OF SMALL LUXURY HOTELS OF THE WORLD TALKS QUIRKY STAYS, STRANGERS BECOMING FRIENDS, AND CHASING THE MOST UNIQUE EXPERIENCES ON HIS TRAVELS
