Sustainable Tourism Development in Remote Areas of Eastern

Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Rural recreation areas have grown rapidly in recent years, and recreation and tourism

development has become a popular vehicle for rural economic development. Recreation

development involves more than just tourist-related businesses, such as hotels and

restaurants; it encompasses all economic growth that results from people moving into the

community to take advantage of its recreational amenities. This kind of development has the

potential to dramatically transform a stagnant rural community into a thriving community by

attracting retirees, entrepreneurs, and young workers, diversifying the economy, and

improving the quality of life with a broader array of goods and services.

Within the process of globalization local communities' participation and nature conservation

are threatened and often overlooked. Sustainable tourism can create positive opportunities for

community development in remote areas. The business sector can choose sustainable tourism

over other more polluting ventures. Long and short term development plans should be

developed so that tourism and its benefits are spread within the area. To develop tourism in a

sustainable manner it is necessary to define optimal tourism destinations in local areas and

regions, ensuring enjoyment for the tourist and minimum impact or disruption for the

environment and local communities.

As Varanasi welcomes a large number of tourists, nearby locations should be developed

especially for leisure and pleasure. There are beautiful water falls, greenery and other natural

surroundings which could attract large number of tourists easily especially from Varanasi.

The aim of this paper is to present and highlight the natural beauty, culture, bewitching

surrounding of remote areas of eastern U.P.

This paper is concerned with the sustainable development of a self-drive tourist destination in

the remote region in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. It first compares the secondary data of tourist’s

arrivals in India, Uttar Pradesh and Varanasi. Local residents are very important factor in

developing tourism in remote areas. Keeping this in mind, their ideas about tourism, visitor

satisfaction both have recorded and analysed. Visitors also reported behavior that might

contribute to environmental impacts. Implications of the findings, in the context of future

destination planning, are also discussed.

Key Words: Remote, rural, sustainable, recreation, nature, Uttar Pradesh

Introduction

ourism is a major social phenomenon of the modern society with enormous

economic consequences. Its importance as an instrument for economic

development and employment generation particularly in remote and backward

areas and a positive step for poverty elimination has been accepted the world over. India also

derived benefits from tourism in spite of the fact that the level of tourist arrivals was not very

high. For a country like India the arrival figures should have been more to get the real

economic benefits of tourism.

T

But this growth in the tourism sector emerged as a very important contribution to the

national economy and contributed quite a lot for employment generation in various tourism

related activities. Tourism is one of the leading global industries (11% of global GDP) of the

world. The world tourism organization estimates that there will be 1.5 billion tourists in the

world in 2020, representing 21% of world population. Strong population growth in

developing region set to attract 50% of international tourist in 2020. There is a clear trend in

growth of rural tourism with the increase in number of tourist visiting these places. India’s

vast rural diversity and heritage offer tremendous potential for tourism in rural areas.

Tourism is one of the major vehicle for generating sustainable livelihood in India

towards this end ministry of tourism, government of India, UNDP India and leading NGO’s

are jointly developing alternative model for rural tourism across the country with a view to

position such models as engine for economic growth. The high potential tourism sector

would address the development issue such as poverty reduction, developing vibrant local

economy, revival and regeneration of arts and crafts and preservation of culture. India has

several forms of art and handicraft, contribution of national integration and the social

transformation of economic lives of people is an important feature of tourism. Over 176

Million domestic tourists visit different parts of the country every year, return with a better

understanding of the people living in other regions of the country and the cultural diversity of

India. Tourism also encourages preservation of monuments and heritage properties and helps

the survival of art forms, crafts and culture.

Today tourism is not seen as an activity of visiting tourist spots, clicking a few

photographs and preserving them for posterity, instead it is expected to play a larger role in

the development of man kind. The stated objective of the nation is to distribute the benefit of

tourism more widely, contribute to poverty reduction, sustainable development of gender

equity and minimize adverse social impact. There is a strong case of rebuilding pride and

respect for women, enthusiastic minorities disables, mentally challenged and other

disadvantaged groups of people. National tourism Policy 2005 has identified village tourism

as a primary tourism product to spread tourism and socio economic benefits to rural and new

geographical areas.

For more than 50 countries, some of which being the poorest, tourism is nevertheless

the first, second or third greatest sector of the economy and has vast growth perspectives.

Dimensions of tourism development are being increasingly discussed on an international

level. Despite a wealth of cultural and natural attractions, India has yet to reach its full

tourism potential. Most of the 5.5 million visitors1 who travel to the Kingdom each year visit

historical destinations or the religious cities. Yet research shows that two out of three tourists

would like to spend more time in the country’s rural areas.

Well, tourism has been identified as an important avenue for employment and income

generation, foreign exchange earnings and at the same time having a multiplier effect on the

economy. The expenditure of the tourist circulates at all the three levels of the economy:

National

regional, and

Local

This means that if the tourist expenditure circulates locally and the leakages are low, a

significant improvement can be made in the income and living standards of the people of the

region or locality. However, a developed region can often divert the benefits towards itself at

the cost of the underdeveloped neighboring regions. Such situations have been experienced

in both international as well as domestic tourism.

Tourism has made a big contribution to create jobs in remote areas where industries are

difficult to come and especially in rural areas places like Ladakh, interior parts of Himachal

Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh or North East region tourism have created employment through the

promotion of rural tourism in these areas. Now thousands of domestic tourists and also

international tourists are visiting places which were never in their itinerary in these areas.

This is just to experience the pristine beauty of these places & to enjoy the ethnic culture,

cuisine, festivals etc. Government is giving special financial incentives to all the State Govts

to promote rural tourism. This is being a bold step for poverty alleviation by involving local

peoples and tourism benefits filtering down from developed areas to under developed areas.

For India also they have made very positive projections and have recognized tourism as an

instrument for generating large scale employment opportunities. India offers enormous

potential for economically utilizing the natural attractions like its beaches, mountains, rivers,

wildlife, sanctuaries, waterfalls, landscapes which are available in plenty in the country.

Thus Tourism contributes greatly to improving economy and employment opportunities in

this age of globalization.

Objectives of the study:

1. Conservation of natural heritage of remote areas.

2. Generate economic benefits for rural populations of remote

areas at nearby locations of Varanasi. The development should be in ways that are

environmentally and socially responsible.

3. Enhance education and awareness about the potential of remote

places among tourists both Indian and international.

4. To educate the residents of the destinations about the economic

benefits of tourism and focus the employment opportunities from tourism.

5. To explore the remote areas having much potential to sell

among tourists so that the government will take some initiative to develop the places as a

tourists destination.

The present study is an empirical study by taking the opinion of communities into

consideration for giving inferential statements on the prospects of eco tourism specially in

remote areas. The core objective of the study is to unveil the latent scope for tour ism in the

destination that brings to light tourists interests in the customs and rural life of people.

This paper outlines the various nature based / eco friendly tourism activities carried out in

eastern Uttar Pradesh. This paper also discusses the rural tourism prospects and accesses the

measures and steps taken by both public and private sector concerns, specially the role of

local bodies in tourism development.

Literature Review: There are copious literatures available on tourism, dealing with the

importance contributions, and its socio economic relevance particularly in developing

regions of India. Research on remote areas for tourism development has been limited by a

paucity of primary and secondary data and by the challenges that the diversity of tourism

industry.

Research methodology

The study is conducted through various primary and secondary data sources. The study area

was visited and the information about the place was gathered by the field survey.

Secondary data and information were gathered from U.P. tourism office, Lucknow. Some of

the information include books, journals, and other published reports. Information available

on internet also helped to complete the study.

Observations were made during the personal visit to these places by the researchers,

interaction with the visitors, local people and the officials benefited in a way to understand

the realities of visitor experience in these remote places.

Two types of questionnaire were prepared one for the foreign and domestic tourist and other

for the locals of the destination. The tourist who filled the questionnaire mostly were in the

Varanasi and Mirzapur region and a very little was found in the sondhadra and Chunar area.

The responses were noted and analyzed in order to satisfy the designed objectives.

Limitations of the study:

Though the research was conducted during the period of April to June which was

offseason for the foreign visitors. Only 25 foreign visitors were there to interview.

Most of the falls were becoming deserted because of the high heat and even Indian

tourists were not eager to visit various beautiful falls, though during the rainy season

people used to like those areas. The responses of the tourist at the various falls have not

been taken.

Scope of the study:

The present study is undertaken realizing the fact about the potential existing in remote areas

in nearby locations of Varanasi. The aim of the paper is to highlight the natural beauty which

attracts a large number of tourists. This research will be helpful for the people who are in

government sector (tourism department), the visitors and the residents. Making them realize

that the potentials of tourism and this industry in these untapped areas will be highly

economically beneficial for the government and residents in every manner.

This study will be fruitful in order to increase the days spent by the tourists at the popular

destination i.e. Varanasi.

Potentials in Remote Areas of Eastern UP

The district Chandauli is of much importance for tourism. The region of Chakiya and

Naugrarh is best during rainy season, one could find the real beauty is gifted by the nature,

whole region of Chakiya, spread over with paddy crops and cloudy sky is bending upon as if

trying to touch the earth. The forest of Naugarh, beautiful Dams and waterfall always attract

tourists. Naugarh, the legendary of  Novel of Devkinandan Khatri, the writer of  famous

novel Chandrakanta In the district Latifshah Beer, Rajdari and Deodari waterfalls Chakiya,

Chandraprabha dam, Naugarh Dam, Arvatand waterfall Naugarh, are the major tourist

attractions. The regions bear tremendous possibility for development of tourism, specifically

eco-tourism and forestry.   

The Chunar fort is situated in the Vindhya Range at a distance of about 45 odd km from

Varanasi. The Chunar fort is located in the Mirzapur district. According to the Puranas the

oldest name of Chunar was Charanadri as Lord Vishnu had taken his first step in his Vaman

incarnation in the dynasty of Great king Bali. However Chunar came into prominence after

the visit of Babar followed by Shershah Suri, Humayun, Akbar, Aurangzeb and finally the

Britishers. 

It is said that Maharaja Vikramaditya, the king of Ujjain established the fort of Chunar.

According to the Alha Khand, King Sahadeo made this fort as his capital and established the

statue of Naina Yogini in a cave of Vindhya hill. To commemorate his victory on 52 rulers,

King Sahadeo built a stone umbrella inside the fort.

Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary are being developed by Kashi Wildlife Division,

Ramnagar  Varanasi. Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary was setup during 1957 covering 9.6

th.hectare of reservered forest area in Chandraprabha and     Jaimohini Range (partially).

Rajdari, Devdari and Aurwatand(Small Devdari) are the main tourist places in this range.

The waterfall of Rajdari and Devdari is situated on Chandraprabha river and near to these

waterfall is Chandraprabha Dam. Around the  waterfall, the forest area is full of natural

beauty.

Waterfall is baricated with stone wall to safeguard wild

animals . specially during rainy season from July to November

the beauty of the place is on peak, apprx.1 to 1.5 lacs tourists

visit to the place every  year.

The attractions and major spots are Dhanapur Martyr Memorial    Baba Kinaram Sacred

Place  Chakiya Kali Mandir , Baba Latifshah  Tomb and  Others.

Tanda fall, Wyndham fall, upper and lower khajuri

reservoirs(all 14 kms. from Mirzapur), Sirsi fall (46 km

from Mirzapur), Jargo reservoir (15 km from Chunar),

Siddhanath Ki Dari (18 km from Chunar) and Mukkha fall

(40 km from Robertsganj), are some of the water falls that

are a favoured picnic spot by nature-lovers.

Lakes :

1.Chandraprabha 2.Bhaisoda 3.Naugarh 4.Mushakhard 5.Latifshah and others

Rivers :

1.Ganga 2.Karmanasha 3.Chandraprabha and others

Dak Bangalow : Irrigation Department Chandauli; Mathela Irrigation Dept Sakaldeeha.

Dilkusha Forest Department Chakiya, PWD Chandauli, Raitha Irrigation Sakaldeeha,

Department Chandauli, Latifshah Chakiya,  Rajdari Chakiya,  Baburi Irrigation Department

Chandauli, Bhaisoda (Sheep Farm)Naugarh.

Dams :

1.Naugarh 2.Mushakhard 3.Chandraprabha 4.Latifshah 5.Bhaisoda

Canals :

1Chandraprabha 2.Mushakhad 3.Narayanpur Lift Canal.

Rajdari waterfall

This is the greatest waterfall of this area as its height is more

than 65 meters and the amount of water is huge that falls.

Best time to visit is from September to March. Winter and

Spring is best. Its in the midst of the Chandraprabha wild life

reserve. There is a dam some 1 Km before it on the river and

thus a water reservoir is formed which feeds the waterfall. Name of the dam is also

Chandraprabha Dam and the Forest is also called Chandraprabha. A beautiful secluded place

for a relaxed outing or a picnic.

Kaimoor wildlife sanctuary

130 kms from varanasi spread over an area of 500 sq. km. the sanctuary has a verity of

wildlife the Mukha waterfall is a tourist attraction.

Fossils park- A Geological heritage

Sonebhadra fossils park. Salkhan, Sonebhadra.it is Situated on main Road Varansi - Shaktinagar

road.12 km. from Robertsganj the age of the fossils are1400 million Year. The importance of this

park is that it is Larger then National Yellow Stone Naional park ,USA. This park is a property of

Kaimoor wild life divison Mirzapur (Dalla range) .Total area is about 25hect.

Culture of the city

Culture means life full with the color of etiquette. Etiquette is produced by soul, sayings and

service. Every culture has its own philosophy and thoughts. Only that culture is said to be

great which serves people and society, as its ambitions.

These areas has a culture which is complete in itself. This is full of ganga-jamuni (belonging

to the Ganga and Yamuna rivers) life style, local behaviour, languages, music, and folk

dances and regional poetry. That is why the civilization that develops here is a combination

of rural and urban life styles which can be easily felt and seen in the style of local languages

and behaviour.

1)The life style: Words are not enough to describe the life style and language of remote areas

of eastern U.P. On one side of the coin is information about dhoti, kurta and a towel

(gamachhaa) (the local style of dress) on shoulders of men; the other side of this cultural coin

shows the scented regional perfumes and earrings on women along with sarees, kara

(bracelets), bangles, bajuband (arm bands), kakani, in hands and hasali (thick silver neck

rings) on the neck, bichhiya (toe rings) on the toes, kanachadi in the ears put on kardhani (a

knitted silver belt) in the waist. Mirzapuri is the local language.

2)Festivals of the city: It is well known that culture develops only where there is economical

growth and historical evidence proves that Mirzapur, chunar, vidhyan region were the ancient

commercial cities. The cultural meets and festivals along with local geo-psychological

behavior has had its impact on the Mirzapur culture which is very much diverse in nature,

self-developed and ancient. In context of these things kajali songs, in the festivals,

jeevitputrika (jutiya), Ganga Deshahara, lalahi chattha, shardiya and vasantik navratra, ojhala

ka mela (a fair at the Ojhla Bridge), lohandi ka mela (fair), the famous Vindhya Mahotsava,

horaha gaderi ka mela, litti bati ka mela, and maa bhandari ka mela (various fairs at different

places on different occasions). Nature has tried to help its local people to enjoy the above

said occasions with full support.

3)Kajari Mahotsava: It is among the famous festivals of Mirzapur. Respected all over India,

kajali took birth here. King Kantit Naresh's daughter Kajali loved her husband very much and

sang songs in the moment of separation from her husband, although she could not meet her

husband throughout her life and died, yet she remains alive through these deep sad-love

songs.

4)Lohandi Mela: 2 km south of Mirzapur an old temple of Lord Hanuman is decorated with

light (ghee ke deeye) on kartik purnima and every Saturday in the month of Saawan (Hindu

month of rain in the middle of July-August), a big fair is arranged. The attraction is tattoo

design.

5)Ojhala Mela. Ojhala is the current name of the Ujjvala River. A fair is arranged regularly

here since 1920, which is a sign of bravery and the only place in India where betting is legal

on the days of the fair.

6)Vindhyavasini Jayanti Samaaroh: Started in 1971, this musical program is arranged by the

Government where renowned Indian vocal and folk artists give real presentations and

worship the goddess Vindhyavasini.

7)Deep Mahotsava: Celebrated on the day of Diwali, all the Ganga ghats are decorated with

lights (ghee ke deeye); locals have immense pleasure celebrating this on kartik amavasya.

8)Jhoolanotsava. In the month of Saawan celebrated by locals during rain, this Jhoolanotsava

is celebrated with swings in the branches of trees for five days. Shree Dwarkadheesh Temple,

Ganga Jamuna Saraswati Temple and Kunj Bhawan are decorated.

Tourist arrivals in India and in Uttar

Pradesh(In Lakh)

year India Uttar Pradesh

2000 2649378 848000

2001 2537282 795000

2002 2384364 710000

2003 2726214 817000

2004 3457477 1037243

2005 3918610 1174597

2006 4447167 1328974

2007 5081504 1524451

2008 5366966 1610089

Earnings from foreign tourists(Rs. In

crore)

Year India U.P.

2000 14238 2847.6

2001 14344 2868.8

2002 14195 2839

2003 16429 3285.8

2004 27944 5588.8

2005 33123 6624.6

2006 39025 7805

2007 44360 8872

2008 50730 10146

From the above chart it is obvious that since 2003 number of tourists increases at an

increasing rate. People coming to India having their different purposes but a large part of

tourists visited to Uttar Pradesh. And among other cities after agra maximum tourist graded

Varanasi as their favourite destination.

Tourist arrivals in Varanasi

Year Varanasi

2000 1932436

2001 1984846

2002 2044341

2003 2111877

2004 2299359

2005 2497575

2006 2736365

2007 2960745

2008 2966622

Varanasi is a place which reflects the Indian culture and international visitors love to

visit the city. The motive of this paper is to highlight the various potential around Varanasi

because people visiting varanasi for culture and pilgrimage will also visit these places for

leisure, pleasure and relaxing.

Perceptional Analysis

In order to satisfy the various objectives, two kinds of questionnaires were prepared. One is

meant for the locals of remote places and other is for tourists (foreigners and Indian tourists).

Though the research has been done during off season so only 20 foreign tourists were

questioned. 100 Indian respondents share their views with us about their experience.

Responses of Foreign Tourist(Total Responses - 20)

Factors

Responses

Yes No

Ist time visitors 13 7

Knowledge about other

places 4 16

Attractions

Nature 7

Culture 9

leisure 4

Night Stay NIL 20

Communication problems 17 3

Other problems

Garbage 16

Toilet 18

Drinking

Water 14

Government facilities 2 18

Community interaction 17 3

International visitors had a very bad experience with these places. Some of them became sick

because of dirty water and food. They were not ready to come again these places even though

they liked the natural environment. Most of them were very much influenced with the Indian

culture. Most of the foreign tourists want to spend some more days but didn’t find a suitable

place to stay. The major drawback of this region, in the view of foreign tourists, that there is

least facilities for accommodation even they didn’t get camping facilities. They agreed that

government provides their guest houses on request, but these houses are not well equipped

and most of them were not in proper condition to stay.

Responses of Indian Tourist(Total Responses - 100)

factors

Responses

Yes No

1st time visitors 33 67

Knowledge about other

places 61 39

attractions

Nature 72

Culture 8

leisure 20

Night Stay 18 82

Communication problems 4 96

Other problems

Garbage 36

Toilet 88

Drinking

Water 72

government facilities 22 78

Community interaction 62 38

Indian tourists were satisfied the natural environment but they were not happy with the

government facilities provided there. Most of the tourist was not aware about the other places

around Varanasi.

Responses of Local Community members(Total Responses - 80)

Factors

Responses

Yes No

Knowledge about Tourism 43 27

benefits from tourism 18 62

Employment opportunities

Taxi 13

Dhaba 17

Hotel 19

Guide 31

Interaction with tourists 67 13

From the above data, locals were interviewed and most of the respondents knew about the

tourism and its benefits. Though there are various opportunities for earning but people were

not looking very much eager to welcome this idea. The researchers tried much to convince

them and they were looking forward for government help to develop this area.

If any area is going to develop for the tourists by the policy makers then the most important

factors are the residents of that particular place. Realizing this fact researchers attempt to talk

the various local community and all the suggestions were taken.

Conclusion and Suggestions:

Vindhyan region and Eastern UP are synonyms of each other. It is plateau area and as the

property of plateau area, these areas have a very little fertile area and job opportunities.

Because of the rough climate this area is less dance in the sense of population, there are a lot

of geographical constraints which restricts the development of these regions.****

During our research work the major findings are;-

Due to the geographical constraints there is very little fertile region that’s why,

poverty is the main characteristics of this region.

Small businesses are the major source of earnings in these areas.

Education and employment are the reflections of each other, because of poverty most

of the population of the host region is illiterate.

Tourism can flourish this area because the host population can give the services to the

tourists and they are willing to welcome the tourists.

During our research work we have found the visual pollution in many tourist areas of

Eastern UP i.e. Windham fall Tandafall rajdari and Devdari etc.

Tandafall is the main source of water and fish in mirzapur. Tanda has a reservoir

which supplies water to Mirzapur without using a single unit of elasticity, only via a siphon

system.

There are some other reservoir like Tanda, Lower khajuri and upper Khajuri which

are the most important for the irrigation to this region and also a fine tourist spots.

Government should have to pay attention for development of tourism in this region

because this area has a lot of potential and tourists are not aware of the spots.Government

should provide service to the tourists like lodging and fooding, this gives economic benefits

to this region.

Transportation is the main problem of this region, a very few areas are connected

with road rest of the area is connected by a single road and there are non availability of

transports.

References:

Arabi,U(2007) “Developing countries: Need for the website marketing infrastructure”, Indian Journal of marketing, Vol.XXXVIII,pp25-37Blamey, R.K. (2001), Principles of ecotourism, in weaver, D.B.(ed.), the encyclopedia of tourism, CABI, Wallingford, pp.5-22Boo,E.(1990), Ecotourism: the potentials and pitfalls, WWF, Baltimore.Buckley,R.(1994),“A framework for ecotourism”, Annals of Tourism research,vol.21no3,pp.661-669Cambell L.M.(1990), “Ecotourism in rural developing communities”, Annals of tourism research, vol.26 no.3, pp.534-553Coklin, C.R. (1989), “Methodological problem in evaluating sustainability” environmental Conservation, Vol.16,no.4,pp.343-351Hohl, A.E. and Tisdell, C.A.(1995), “Peripheral tourism: Development and management”, Annals of tourism research, vol.22no3,pp.517-534Praveen Sethi,(1999), “Handbook of morden handbook”, Anmol Publications, New Delhi, pp.11-13New Horizons in Tourism: Strange Experiences and Stranger Practices Edited by T V Singh, Centre for Tourism Research and Development, Lucknow, Indiahttp://www.planningplaces.com.au/remote_rural_tourism.htmhttp://indiatoday.intoday.in/index.phpSeasonality in tourism. Edited by T. Baum and S. Lundtorp ... Unit: London. ...The tourism area life cycle Richard Butler Edition illustrated Publisher Channel View Publications, 2006Tourism and Culture: An Applied Perspective. ERVE CHAMBERS, ed. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997. Long term Prospects: Tourism 2020 Vision. World Tourism (2004)Negi, jagmohan : Tourism development and Resources Conservation: an environmental ecological, socio-economic and cultural approach to tourism in developing countries. Metropolitan, New Delhi.Bull, A.: The Economics of Travel and Tourism, Melbourne: Pitman.Cooper C.P.: Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management, Vol. 2, London: Belhaven.Berry, B.J.L.: Urbanization and counter Urbanization. Beverly Hills; Sage.Negi, Jagmohan: Himalayan Heritage: Gitanjali, New Delhi. Satyanarayana. G., Raghavalu,M.V. Reddi ramu, M(2007), “ Tourism and its Impacts on Socioeconomic sectors in developing countries” , Southern economist, Vol. 46,No. 7, Pg. 9-10Tourism And Sustainable Economic development: India and Global Perspective- edited by Sarngadharan and G. Raju, New Delhi, new century, 2005http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/know-india/tourism.htm