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Himachal Pradesh is one of the top five tourist destinations (both domestic and international) in India with over 60 lakh tourists visiting the state every year, the number equaling its total population.
Natural Environmental Treasures and the Popular Sites of Tourist Interest in Himachal Pradesh:
Himachal Pradesh, a relatively small state in India nestled in the lap of the Himalaya, is truly considered a Travelers Paradise for its unique canvas of lofty ice-capped mountain summits, glaciers, deep gorges, turbulent rivers, picturesque green and golden meadows with orchards, ethnic settlements and culture of ancient tribes.
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Having an area of 55,673 km2 it has a legally classified forest area of 37,033 km2, which is 66 per cent of its total geographical area. Out of the area designated as forest land, 12 per cent is under Protected Area Network. The per capita availability of forests in this state is 0.22 hectares against the national average of 0.06 hectare.
A small state like Himachal Pradesh, which has only 1.7 per cent of the geographical area of the country, has contributed a remarkable 4.5 per cent of the net increase in the forest cover of the country. In addition the state has thirty two wildlife sanctuaries, two national parks and three game reserves covering over 5,500 km2.
This state is a treasure house both for plants as well as wildlife. It is also the home of some rare endangered species like snow leopard, musk deer, brown bear and pheasants like the Western horned Tragopan which has been bred in captivity for the first time in the world in Himachal Pradesh. Table 1 demonstrates the pattern of sector wise distribution of traditional tourist places in Himachal Pradesh.
Recent Trend of Tourist Influx in Himachal Pradesh:
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Himachal Pradesh witnesses a heavy rush of tourists in every summer and autumn months. Current report shows that this state receives over 60 lakh tourists every year. The domestic tourist inflow in the state has recorded a 22 per cent increase in the past five years (2001-2005), while the foreign tourist inflow figure has gone up by around 30 per cent during the same period. According to the report received from the Himachal Pradesh Tourism and Development Corporation office 63, 45,069 domestic tourists visited the state in 2004 compared to 55, 44,414 in 2003.
National Tourism Policy 2002 and Tenth Plan exhibit a change in Himachal government’s approach to tourism as a promoter of national integration and facilitator of international understanding.In 2002 Himachal Pradesh received 1.44 lakh of international tourists (5.76% of total 25 lakh foreign tourists who visited India in that year) and 49 lakh domestic tourist i.e., a total of 50.44 lakh. With this trend, by 2010, Himachal Pradesh is expected to receive 1.5 crore tourists including 15 lakh foreigners.
The major countries contributing foreign tourists in Himachal Pradesh are US (9.8%), UK (16.1%), Germany (6.6%) and France (5.1%). The statistics show the growth pattern of tourist flow in Himachal Pradesh during 1997-2005 and the projected pattern for the ensuing year 2010 (Table 2).
Characterization of Eco-tourists:
The characteristics of eco-tourists visiting or would be visiting Himachal Pradesh can be classified in three broad categories as given in Table 3.
The Himachal Pradesh Government Tourist Economic Survey, conducted in 2002, presented a detailed account of the contemporary pattern of tourist pressure received in all the districts of the state, the report of which is presented in the Table 4.
The district wise pattern of tourist pressure demonstrates that out of the 12 districts Kullu and Shimla alone account for more than 50 per cent of the total tourist traffic.
Potentials of the Development of Tourism Industry in Himachal Pradesh:
In India foreign exchange earnings from tourism is the third largest; therefore it is now becoming the largest export industry of the country. Himachal Pradesh is one of the top five tourist destinations (both domestic and international) in India with over 60 lakh tourists visiting the state every year, the number equaling its total population.
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The reasons for recent tourist flow boom in Himachal Pradesh in current years may be assessed as follows:
i. Himachal Pradesh, being a Himalayan state, is endowed with beautiful and comfortable climate; the best times for visit are summer (March to May) and autumn (September to November).
ii. Vast areas of scenic beauty for passive recreation comprise the picturesque valleys of Kullu, Kangra and Kinnaur with lash of colours, and by contrast the barren terrain of Lahaul and Spiti have stunning lunar landscape-like beauty presenting another dimension of aesthetic view.
iii. This has ecologically very rich areas with exotic flora, fauna and avifauna habitating the sanctuaries.
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iv. This state has enough treasure to promote both adventure tourism and cultural tourism.
v. Under the growing pressure of activists the huge number of mountain lover tourists who earlier preferred to visit Kashmir valley, now shifted their choice to the almost similar but more peaceful mountain environments of Himachal Pradesh.
A detail account of adventure tourism and cultural tourism in this state is listed in the Table 5.
vi. Ecologically rich areas with exotic flora, fauna and avifauna habiting the sanctuaries are given in Table 6.
