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Arunachal Tourism
The definition of Ecotourism conceptualized by the Mexican environmentalist Hector Ceballos-Lascurain “ ecotourism is that tourism that consists in traveling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural manifestation (both past and present) found in these areas…The main point is that the person who practices ecotourism has the opportunity of immersing himself/herself in nature in a manner generally not available in the urban environment.” is quite relevant to the resource rich Arunachal in the threshold of tourism development. Ecotourism is a responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and sustains the well being of the local people. The undisturbed and uncontaminated ecosystem of Arunachal is its greatest strength in its bid to become a prominent ecotourism hub in the subcontinent. Numerous big and small rivers, tropical to temperate and alpine forests, snow clad mountains and the atmosphere as a whole is absolutely pollution free. Abundance of flora & fauna, rich cultural mosaic, honest- hospitable-hardworking populace of the state are a few amongst other inherent advantages for a synergy in this endeavor. Rich bio- resources of the state can support ample studies and research activities and can be a plant breeders’ paradise. Non consumptive Eco tourism shall be envisioned as an amalgam of rural Agro – tourism, adventure, scientific studies, and conservation with a total prohibition of consumption or destruction of natural resources. Ecotourism is a fast growing sector in tourism and is mostly having its clientele of urban population. Urban populace, born and brought up in towns and cities who have never experienced or even seen how the food they take is grown in the field, how a fruit tree looks at its full bloom and the rich indigenous technical knowledge(ITK) of the rural common people in farm operations.
Segmentation of the types of destination on the basis of SWOT analysis should be the initial step in destination marketing. Destinations are to be identified and given the right treatment to develop into tourists’ ecstasy. It is essential to identify the prospective destinations which fulfill the business terms, six-A framework for growth of ecotourism i.e. Attractions, Accessibility, Amenities, Available packages, Activities and Ancillary services which are the most important parameters for tourism destination marketing. The first-A i.e. Attractions due to unique astounding panorama ,biodiversity, ethno religious mosaic, zero pollution environment, vast water resources and rich Indigenous technical knowledge(ITK) of the people are already in place. There is abundance of blossoming orchards with fragrance and colorful foliage, blending into the landscape in shades of green and yellow according to the season, rainfall and temperature. The people of Arunachal are as varied as the state they live in. Historians, Anthropologists and many academicians have an inclination to discover cultural background, history and genesis of ethnic ancestry and the varied ethnic mosaic of the state can entice huge number of tourists for ethno-tourism. The remaining five As need to be scrupulously handled, with precise professionalism so that the state is transformed into a major tourist destination. Geographical proximity with the South East Asian countries is an additional strength and India’s Look East Policy is going to ease the flow of Southeast Asian tourists into the state.
All the rivers and valleys are appropriate for developing into nature lovers’ enchantment. The western part of the state particularly West Kameng and Tawang districts have incredible potentiality to be developed into Alpine destinations. Developing Alpine resorts in the lakes and scenic landscapes in Tawang district shall obviously usher in an epoch of business traveling activity like conference & business seminars which is an emerging segment of business tourism. Ideal professional hospitality services are of supreme importance for a business tourist resort. This can be made feasible by skill enhancement & capacity building of local entrepreneurs supported by the public sector stakeholders. Capacity building of locally available workforce may be in terms of financial outsourcing from the public/ private investors and knowledge & skill outsourcing from domestic as well as overseas professionals. In the North East India Investment Summit held in Guwahati in January’2008, a number of Non-resident North East Indians having expertise in every profession of present day global development aspects expressed their sincere aspiration to share their knowledge in an effort to unlock the opportunities for inclusive growth of the region.
Arunachal’s vast resources in the Agriculture and allied sector closely knit with the bountiful gifts of nature can support development of Agro-tourism in a big way. Unique paddy cum fish culture, kiwi gardens, fruit gardens, organic kiwi orchards, prolific orange gardens, terraced organic rice, tranquil anglers’ paradise are some promising areas for development of Agro-tourism. Traditional organic agriculture, livestock rearing, cold water trout culture, abundance of ornamental fish, traditional system of rodent control, indigenous methods ofhealth care, customary laws of conflict resolution , ethnic gourmet etc are the added strength of the state which can support growth of Agro-eco tourism. Rural agro-eco tourism segment of tourism industry has its foremost clientele in the urban areas with reasonably affluent economy and thus income out of the investment and services in Eco-tourism is expected to be substantially high.
There is abundance of opportunities for speedy growth of other sectors of tourism in the state and an all-encompassing growth shall escalate the state’s economy overwhelmingly. The legendary 17th century Tawang monastery, Asia’s biggest Lord Sidheswar stone Sivling, Menga temple, the famous Parasuram Kund, (Brahma kund) are some of the myriad destinations of Pilgrimage/spiritual tourism.
It is a fact that there is enormity of inherent resources in the state which can support tourism development tremendously. The need of the hour is to meticulously plan, identify and develop the destinations in public-private-partnership mode so that the” yet to be explored paradise of North East India”, Arunachal shapes itself as the outstanding eco-tourist destination in the country.
Local festivals, given wide promotional media hype, shall certainly attract ecotourists in huge magnitude. Documentation of all the local festivals depicting the mythology, rationale, rituals and all other relevant information will have to be accorded appropriate priority. Rich ethnicity of the Arunachalees, traditional rural architecture, cane & bamboo bridges over torrent rivers, unique rodent proof granaries, countryside open auditorium of ethnic design, customary system of conflict resolution etc are a few of the vast rural resources which shall have to be preserved and handled ardently to ensure maintenance of conventionality in the identified tourist destinations so as to fascinate tourists.
Buddha Mohotsava, River festivals, Parsuram mela etc are some of the events attracting a large number of tourists and tourist inflow during these festivals is showing an increasing trend.
Commodity linked carnival viz. Orange festival in the major citrus growing areas of Siang and Lohit valleys, Apple and Kiwi festival in Kameng area, and similar events are likely to attract traders as well as tourists in a big way. At the outset, it may require largely public sector investment to popularize and publicize the events.
Human resource in the state has the required potentiality but the most important task ahead is to build their capacity and upgrade the skill to match the requirement of modern hospitality and allied services with professional efficiency.
We must endorse the fact that the public sector alone cannot accomplish such a colossal tast. Top tourist spots of the world have attained today’s position due to precise public sector planning and active involvement of the private stakeholders. The public sector has a mandate to accord topmost priority to social benefits even at the cost of the return per rupee invested. Private investors, having due regard to social benefit aspects, have a competitive mindset which compels them to develop their own human resource that can compete with the highly skilled professionals in the fray.
Initial steps for capacity building, skill enhancement to create professional business administrator and supporting workforce in hospitality services is essential in the private sector so that tourism may prosper fast in Public-Private-Partnership mode and raise the local economy to a new height. It has to be the approach that entirety in growth of every economic activity may be sustainable only when private sector is accorded due attention. Again, local populace whose lifeline is going to be the centre of all activities has to be of primaryconsiderations to plan, choose and formulate any tourism related activity.
Management skill of administrators in developing tourism and marketing of products necessitates involvement of organizations and consultancy services specialized in tourism management. On attaining a level of reasonable achievement in the process of identification and initial groundwork for destinations, professionally skilled Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) shall have to be assigned the most important task of planning and marketing of the destinations. The state government must ensure that the strategic management and marketing objectives are to the best advantage to the local people. A few of the major considerations to be in the process of handling this aspect by the DMOs are pronounced below:
þ Enhance long term growth of the local people.
þ Delight tourists with maximum satisfaction
þ Develop an image of the destination
þ Maximize profitability of local enterprises
þ Maximize multiplier effects
þ Take into consideration, the wishes and expectations of the tourists, tour operators, and the local service providers.
þ Destinations may not exceed the carrying and supporting capacity so that it can sustain its resources.
Aggressive marketing in conjunction with extensive publicity at important towns and cities of the Northeast will yield encouraging results in tourism marketing. Involvement of entrepreneurs in developing hospitality services, creation of roadside amenities, developing non-consumptive agro-eco tourism facilities creation of tourist affable environment in the places of religious importance are some of the tasks of immediate need. Setting up of tourist information centers at important airports, railway and bus stations depicting the affluent cultural heritage of the state is necessary for attracting domestic as well as overseas tourists to this unexplored tourist’s paradise. Private sector tour operators, Destination Management Organizations (DMO) are required to shoulder this responsibility.
Tawang can be branded as an adventure, pilgrimage and nature lovers’ destination where as Itanagar-Ziro-Daporijo-Malinithan (Likabali) may be branded as eco tourists’, archeologists ,academicians and researchers’ delight .Pasighat-Along-Jenging-Yinkiong having vast areas under organic terraced rice cultivation, mandarin and sweet orange, angling spots, white water rafting spots can be a destination for agro-eco tourists, adventurers and nature lovers. Likewise, the unique hill resort of Mayudia, ruins of A.D. Bhismaknagar fort, Mehao and Sally lakes are for eco lovers, archeologists, environmentalists. Tezu-Hayuliang-Parasuram Kund have already been branded as pilgrimage and nature lovers’ destinations.
Tour and travel operators, media professionals may be offered promotional tour facility so that the advantages of their delightful touch to allure tourists to the state may be used in marketing of Arunachal as the most favored destination for tourists. Organizing promotional seminars and conferences involving the tour operators, service providers, event managers and most importantly the stakeholders and the media shall accelerate awareness and media hype which is likely to boost the flow of domestic tourists to the state.
