Environmental sustainability and tourism - implications of trend synergies of tourism in Sikkim Himalaya.

摘要

This article analyses tourism in Sikkim, a small Himalayan state of India, in light of the most general kind of tourism process models and tourist influx trends. The tourism trends are studied to map the state of progress and prospects of tourism in the state, and for the general understanding of patterns of tourist influx. Tourism in Sikkim is predominantly domestic; foreign tourists comprise only 5.5% of the total tourist influx. The trends reveal that Sikkim tourism is in the developmental stage of increasing growth of tourist influx. Simulations based on three scenarios suggest that approximately 7.6-10.4 lakhs tourists would visit Sikkim during the year 2017, which would also have implications on the infrastructure, environment, natural resources, culture and eco-tourism of the state. The impacts are also analysed in light of projected increase in the population and trends of livestock resources and agricultural production. A proactive planning involving optimal use of management options, therefore, is required for a viable symbiosis of tourism and environment, and sustainability of tourism in the state.