The government of India has been concentrating more on the development of tourism since the last few years as this sector has been identified as one of the largest growing sector with immense foreign exchange earnings. The ministry of tourism is the national executing agency for the development of tourism initiative in India. This agency has given priority to the development of tourism in rural sites initially. The focus of rural tourism is to provide quality holiday experience to domestic and international visitors to rural sites of India in which home stays/farm stays are provided with certain hosting criteria.
A wide variety of tourism opportunities exist throughout rural India and is continuously growing as increasing number of local entrepreneurs have been identifying new ways to market previously untapped local resources and attractions, and bring tourist into their area. Rural tourism is well suited to small scale rural enterprises. Many remote areas in India like Mokokchung (Nagaland), Lachen (Sikkim), Konaseema (Andhra Pradesh), Kumbalanghi ( Kerala) and Pranpur(Maddhya Pradesh) are ideal locations for nature based activities like eco tourism, adventure sports etc.
The study focuses on the characteristics of Home stays and also attempts to investigate the overall satisfaction of homestay owners in terms of Economical, Environmental and Socio -Cultural challenges and benefits of homestays. The area chosen for this study was Kerala, a small state in South India.
Kerala is a beautiful state located in the southern part of India. The state Kerala known as ‘God’s own country’, also referred as the ‘spice garden of India’ [Ponmelil]. The state is blessed with tremendous lush greens which include paddy fields, tea estates, plantation covered hills, palm lined beaches, thick jungles and enthralling lakes, rivers and waterfalls. The major cultivations in Kerala are coconut, rubber, cardamom, pepper, rice, cashews and ginger.
Kerala is considered as the most peaceful state in India which is famous for its hospitality and rich in culture. The people of Kerala are warm and friendly. The state is also remaining as one of the most advanced and educated states in India with a high literacy rate. The quality of life and the achievements of social developments in this state were exceptional. The state Kerala has understood the importance of education and has given first priority for that. There are a number of well organized national and international schools, colleges and professional institutions in Kerala that were managing by government and private organisations.
The state was formed in 1956 when the three provinces called Travancore, Cochin and Malabar were joined together after India got independence in 1947. The capital of Kerala is Thiruvanthapuram. The capital city is famous for beaches, IT parks, palaces and pilgrim centers. Kerala is a multi religious state with Christians, Hindus and Muslims. Kerala is bordered by Karnataka in the north and Tamilnadu in the south. Malayalam is the official language of Kerala and ranks 8th among the 15 major languages in India in terms of the number of speakers. Kerala is famous for arts and crafts. The traditional and major art forms in Kerala are Kathakali, Theyyam, Koodiyattom, Bharathanatyam and Mohiniyattom.
The climate of Kerala is tropical and humid with an average maximum daily temperature of 36.7 C and minimum of 19.8 C. The winter season is from December to the end of February and the summer starts from February till May and then the monsoon begin.
Tourism in Kerala
Kerala has emerged as the most acclaimed tourist destination in India. The back waters, beaches, hill stations, wildlife, waterfalls and the diverse flora and fauna makes the small state a unique destination for tourists. During the last couple of years the government of Kerala has given immense importance for the growth of tourism sector as this sector plays a vital part in the economy of the state and the country. The small state Kerala, has been branded as one of the sought after destination in the world. The government plays an important role for the marketing and promotional activities to make Kerala a branded destination. Kerala is the first state in India to be accorded the status of partner state of the World Travel and Tourism Council [WTTC] in 2002.
Kerala, located on the southern most tip of India, is hot and trusted tourism brand in India these days. The Satellite Accounting Research conducted by World Travel and Tourism Council [WTTC], states that Kerala’s travel and tourism demand is expected to grow by 11.6% [WTTC] per annum over the coming decade and is recorded as the highest growth rate in the world.
The God’s Own Country [Kerala], is famous for its attractive destinations and tourism initiatives. The dramatic increase in the number Indian middle class and global promotion campaigns by the tourism department contributed to the increase in tourist traffic to this small Indian state with 38,863 square km and a population of 32 million [True Knowledge, 2010].
Tourism Policy in Kerala
Responsible tourism is a new initiative promoted by the government of Kerala to ensure the participation of important stakeholders in a responsible way. Homestay tourism is one of the best initiatives to implement responsible tourism by ensuring participation of important stakeholders in a local community.
“Responsible tourism is a leisure activity implementing practices that are respectful of natural and cultural environment and which contribute in an ethical manner to the local economic development. It therefore favors the tourist awareness concerning his own impacts on the local territory and makes him an actor of his consumption” [cited in eveil network].
The state of Kerala decided to take on responsible tourism initiative at four pilot destinations. These destinations are Kovalam, the famous beach in south Kerala, Kumarakom, the back water destination in central Kerala, Thekkady, a hill resort in central Kerala and Wayanad, a historic/hill resort in Northern Kerala. Responsible tourism committees at various levels formed to initiate activities with focus on triple bottom line – Economical, Social, and Environmental.
The priority was given on economic area. Demand assessment of hotel products were done to ensure the sufficient supply of products from local area. Panchayats (Local governing bodies) were involved in this process of seed distribution, procurement of crops and sale of procured items to hotels. This local production- procurement -supply process has significant importance in responsible tourism initiative to stimulate grass root level economic development.
The major portion of the revenue generated through the responsible tourism flows to key stakeholders in local communities. Hotels and resorts operating in local community procure products from local production-procurement- supply network. This initiative will strengthen the bond between local community and hotel/resort operators. Ultimately, the economic well being of the society helps local bodies to focus on other two major initiatives of the responsible tourism – social and environmental factors.
Economic well being helps local societies to reduce social inequality by retaining major part of tourism revenue in local area. Moreover the socio -cultural exchange between the host community and the visiting tourists is beneficial for both the groups. Some of these advantages are sharing of various food cuisines, customs, geographical knowledge and trends in dress patterns. Then it’s the third bottom line – environmental factor. This is one is most affected by the growth and development of tourism in Kerala. The responsible tourism ensures participation of all stake holders in environment initiative. Efficient use of energy, water, and waste water management, protection of flora and fauna, all comes under environment initiative.
Kerala state is planning to expand responsible tourism initiatives to other tourist destinations after revising the success of the pilot program.
http://www.keralatourism.org/images/rt-impacts-in-the-Social.jpg
Sustainable Tourism
Sustainable tourism is a traditional framework to develop tourism that relates to shareholders in the tourism industry. Tourism supply chain, tourism attractions, local communities, and governments are the main actors involved in the provision of sustainable tourism. Each tourism attraction has to be concerned about the limits of tourism activities. These limits are the carrying capacity of an area, which is the capacity of the area that can be used for tourism activities without degrading the environment, culture, and the interactive harmony among sectors of the economy, group of people, and individuals (Manning and Dougherty, 1995, p. 29). In addition to carrying capacity, impact assessment and evaluation of the ecosystem must be performed periodically. In addition, tourism attractions should play a big role in tourist education, which may come in forms of environmental education and developing sustainable tourist behaviors. In terms of local participation, in principle, the tourism industry creates high levels of income generation and distribution. The local members are major participants in the development of sustainable tourism as community based tourism. The multiplier effect, which means that tourism creates job and investment opportunities for the local communities; it means that the goods and services that are offered to the tourists are produced locally and are not imported (Inskeep, 1991, p. 131).
The present view on tourism development is that tourism has to be sustainable; it has to generate economic benefits such as income and employment but should in the meantime aim at conservation of environmental and cultural heritage. Sustainable tourism is tourism that focuses on the impact of large numbers of tourists on the destination. The basis for sustainable tourism is the UN’s definition of sustainability: to meet the goals of the present without destroying the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Based on this definition, the goal of sustainable tourism can be determined as protection and preservation of the environment for future generations. To achieve this goal the number of tourists coming to destinations must be kept within the limits of the predetermined carrying capacity while environmentally friendly strategies are trying to minimize the damage to the environment caused by tourism. Sustainable tourism deals with the question how to gain economic benefits from tourism while causing minimal damage to social, cultural and physical environments. It is clear in the UN’s definition of sustainable tourism that it is important to determine the carrying capacity of the destination. Carrying capacity concerns the optimum number of visitors that can be accommodated in a destination area before damage occurs and before a decline in the visitor’s experience. However, the interpretation of this understanding is complicated.
There are many existing definitions of carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is defined as “the maximum number of people who can use a site without an unacceptable alteration in the physical environment and without an unacceptable decline in the quality of experience gained by visitors” (Mathieson and Wall, 1982, p. 21). O’Reilly (1986) pointed out that too large numbers of visitors have great impact not only on the physical environment but also on the social cultural and economic aspects. O’Reilly does not give one overall definition of carrying capacity. He instead talked about the economic carrying capacity, the physical carrying capacity and the social carrying capacity. He described economic carrying capacity as the destination’s ability to absorb tourist’s activity without destroying local activities. The physical carrying capacity is defined as the limit of the destination beyond which environmental problems will arrive. Social carrying capacity is the level of tolerance of the host population for the presence and the behavior of the tourists (O’Reilly, 1986, p. 256).
The definition of carrying capacity in Martin’s and Uysal’s study is “the number of visitors that an area can accommodate before negative impacts occur, either to the physical environment, the psychological attitude of the tourists or the social acceptance level of the hosts” (Martin and Uysal, 1990, p. 329). In determining the carrying capacity of the destination, not only the impact of the number of tourists on the physical environment should be considered, but also the impact on the socioeconomic and cultural environment (Inskeep, 1991, p. 142). He stressed that “establishing carrying capacities is based on the concept of maintaining a level of development and use that will not result in environmental or social cultural deterioration” (Inskeep, 1991, p. 144). The existence of many definitions makes it clear that there is no unanimous understanding of the concept of carrying capacity. It is however generally accepted that carrying capacity deals with the volume of visitors and visitors’ activities in relation to the possible negative impacts on the physical, socio-cultural and economic environment.
To achieve sustainable tourism, it is essential to determine the maximum number of visitors that a destination can accommodate without destroying the destination image of the tourists. However, levels of crowding are not the same for all destination areas. For instance, beaches intended for relaxation can have smaller number of visitors than beaches developed for beach-tourism. A park used for nature reserve should have a lower density than the park used for amusement (O’Reilly, 1986, p. 257). Martin and Uysal (1990) stressed that carrying capacity is different for each lifecycle stage of the destination. For example, in the exploration stage there will be little impact on the social level but because there are not many facilities only a few tourists can be accommodated. The carrying capacity in this lifecycle stage is determined by the physical carrying capacity. In the stagnation stage, many tourists can be accommodated but the local community becomes less friendly to the tourists.
The carrying capacity in this stage is determined by the psychological and social carrying capacity. Despite the difficulties in measuring the carrying capacity of a destination, Inskeep (1991) provided general measurement criteria, which he divided into 2 categories;
the indigenous physical and social economic environment
the tourism image and tourist product
Measurement criteria for carrying capacity in relation to the indigenous environment are shown as follows:
Physical carrying capacity
Acceptable level of visual impact and congestion
Levels at which ecological systems are maintained before damage occurs
Conservation of wildlife and natural vegetation
Acceptable level of air, water and noise pollution
Economic carrying capacity
Level of tourism that provides optimum overall economic benefits
Level of tourism employment for the local community
Socio cultural carrying capacity
Extent of tourism development that can be absorbed without damage to the socio cultural lifestyle and activity of the community
Level of tourism that can maintain cultural monuments, arts, belief systems, customs and traditions without negative effects
Infrastructure
Adequate availability of transportation facilities and services
Adequate availability of water supply, electric power, sewage and solid waste disposal and telecommunication
Adequate availability of community facilities and services related to health and public safety
The indigenous physical and socioeconomic environment means that no damage should be done to the physical environment; no socio-cultural and economic problems should be created for the local community and a proper balance between development and conservation should be maintained.
Maintaining tourism image and tourist products means determining the maximum number of visitors that a destination can accommodate without destroying the destination image of the tourists. If the numbers of visitors exceed the limits of the carrying capacity, the destination’s attractions are destroyed. The destination will then decline in quality and popularity.
Measurement criteria for carrying capacity in relation to tourism image and visitor satisfaction are the following:
Physical carrying capacity
Overall cleanliness and lack of pollution
Lack of congestion of the destination environment and at tourist attractions
Attractiveness of landscape, including quality and character of architectural design
Maintenance of ecological system and flora and fauna of natural attractions
Economic carrying capacity
Cost of the holiday and “value for money”
Socio cultural carrying capacity
Intrinsic interest of indigenous communities and culture
Quality of local art, cuisine and cultural performances
Friendliness of residents
Infrastructure
Acceptable standard of transportation facilities and services
Acceptable standard of utility services
Acceptable standard of other facilities and services
For the development of sustainable tourism, carrying capacity management is a planning and management tool which helps to specify goals and objectives in tourism development. Rose [1984, 45 cited in Gunn, 2002] argues that “Planning is a multidimensional activity and seeks to be integrative. It embraces social, economic, political, psychological, anthropological and technological factors. It is concerned with the past, present and future”. The demand and supply side are the two strong elements of tourism. Tourism plan was prepared in 1991 [UNDP and WTO, 1991] to provide the basis for rectifying existing problems and a logical framework for the expansion of tourism.
Tourism carrying capacity is also a part of planning process. Coccossis and Mexa [2004 p.75], states that “the approach for defining tourism carrying capacity and the emphasis in its measurement may change or shift overtime in order to reflect changes to a system’s structure and dynamic as well as changes in management goals and priorities, in visitor’s values and expectations, and so on. Carrying capacity is not a fixed value, instead it acts as a guidance for tourism sustainability”. Figure 2.1 shows the challenge of tourism carrying capacity assessment [Coccossis and Mexa, 2004].
It can only be successful if all the stakeholders understand and agree to achieve the same goals. The government should issue clear and strict policies which can be understood and supported by all the government agencies like National Tourism Development Board and the ministries related to tourism. The private sector (hotels, shops and tour operators) and the local community should be involved in determining the tourism carrying capacity of their specific location; they must decide together how much damage they will tolerate in their specific location (Getz, 1983, p. 262). A proper understanding of how carrying capacity management works is essential for a successful application. All the stakeholders should understand the advantages and disadvantages of the different ways to limit the number of tourists. The number of tourists can be limited by pricing policies such as in Bhutan and Galapagos, Ecuador where tourists have to pay considerable fees to enter the country and to visit the destination (Reinfeld, 2003, p. 32). The pricing policy is meant not only to limit the number of visitors but it is a tool to select the type of visitors. People who can afford the high fees are considered high quality tourists.
Another way is restricting the number of tourists and the minutes that each person can stay at the destination as in China or closing certain areas for tourists during special events like on Koh Samet in Thailand. Establishing buffer zones where private commercial activities are prohibited like in India, is yet another way of limiting the number of tourist in the attempt to develop sustainable tourism. It is important that all the stakeholders understand that the carrying capacity management which includes limiting the number of visitors, is aimed at preserving the environment in order to guarantee sustainable tourism. If some of the stakeholders do not participate in applying carrying capacity management, because for instance they think about economic benefits on the short run, the goal of carrying capacity management and thus sustainable tourism cannot be achieved.
However, carrying capacity as a management tool does not always give the desired results. This is not surprising, because tourism planners and managers have to deal with three different carrying capacities: the physical, the socio-cultural and the economic carrying capacities. The thresholds for the different capacities may not be the same. For instance, tourism development may be beneficial in economic terms but very damaging in the socio-cultural and environmental aspects. There is another reason why the results are not as good as they should be, namely: the seasonality of the tourism industry. The seasonality makes it complicated to use the concept of carrying capacity as a planning tool. The maximum level of the destination’s carrying capacity will be reached only in peak periods and not during the low season. Planners and managers must decide if they are going to develop accommodation, services and infrastructure to meet the demand in the peak periods although much of the capacity will not be used outside the peak period (Inskeep, 1991, p. 147). Another complication in using carrying capacity as a management tool in the development of sustainable tourism is that destinations in different stages of the lifecycle have different capacity thresholds (Martin and Uysal, 1990, p. 329). Moreover, carrying capacity management is not static; it changes from region to region, with constantly changing limits determined by a combination of environmental thresholds, investment options and management policies.
Identification of issues
Socio-cultural component SCC
Political-economic component PEC
Physical- ecological component PhEC
Broader context
(i.e.Trends/ prospects, national strategies of tourism development)
Analysis of the system Physical, ecological, socio-cultural, political-economic, institutional characteristics
Analysis of tourism development. Type and level of tourism development, flows activities, tourist product, existing restrictions etc.
Assessment: identify problems, threats, risks, issues and concerns, conflicts and opportunities
Definition of critical factors: identification of bottlenecks and constraints
PhEC SCC PEC
Definition of indicators, thresholds and desired levels
PhEC SCC PEC
Formulation of goals and objectives/definition priorities
Impact assessment of the various options
PhEC SCC PEC
Elaboration of alternative courses of actions (options)
Selection of preferable option
Definition of total carrying capacity on the basis of key critical factors
Strategy formulation
TCC policy measures
Implementation
TCC indicators (final list)
Monitoring and evaluation
PLANNING FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT TCCA
Planning for tourism development and TCCA
Figure 2.1
If tourists consume imported goods and products, the local communities do not benefit much. It will be the foreign producers who will benefit because the revenues are shipped out of the country. The tourism activities in the communities generate income and employment and support local communities directly in improving their standard of living. In addition, the local residents are the tourism planners in their communities. This tourism management results in spreading the economic benefits fairly among the communities both revenue and employment, as a multiplier effect on the local communities. Consequently, the sustainable tourism development pays attention to community involvement and environmental conservation. It brings benefits to the community such as improved living standards that strengthen the capacity in the community. This leads to sustainability and to a tendency of a new tourism pattern. This new pattern emphasizes the awareness of environmental conservation and local participation which leads to the emerging of the principle of community based tourism (CBT) in the tourism industry.
Community Based Tourism
Community based tourism (CBT) is “tourism that takes environmental, social and cultural sustainability into account” (REST, 2005). CBT concept is useful for community tourism management and it aims to increase awareness of tourists to conserve natural resources and to learn about community and local ways of life.
Community based tourism aims to increase and improve participation by stakeholders for the reasons outlined under rationale. The ability of local people to participate actively depends on economic, social and political relationships as well as on ecological and physiographic factors found in any particular area.
Community based tourism aims to achieve the following objectives:
Community based tourism must contribute to increase and/or improve conservation of natural and/or cultural resources, including biological diversity, water, forests, cultural landscapes, monuments, etc;
Community based tourism must contribute to local economic development through increasing tourism revenues and other benefits to community residents, and to an increasing number of participants;
Community based tourism must have a level of participation towards self-mobilization.
Community based tourism has a responsibility to the visitor to provide socially and environmentally responsible products.
Community based tourism will increase community involvement in conservation and development. It generates widespread economic and other benefits and decision-making power to communities. These benefits act as incentives for participants and the means to conserve the natural and cultural resources.
Home stay Tourism
Home stay is one type of tourism that promotes interaction between host families and visitors. It will function as a guideline for management on natural resources and cultural preservation and distributes income to local residents, preventing leakage of the economy out of the community.
In addition, the framework to develop and promote tourism is concerned about environmental conservation and sustainable tourism principle. Homestay tourism is based on sustainability of tourism; therefore it is necessary to investigate the overall satisfaction of tourists with homestay services. There are many different patterns in tourist behaviors and lifestyles, depending on their own traditions and cultural backgrounds. This means that there is a wide range of tourist demands in the destinations. Therefore, the result of the study is useful information to improve quality of homestay tourism in the tourism industry
Hatton (1999) indicated that homestay was one pattern of tourism in which the tourists have to stay with the host in a community, where they will be involved in activities such as cooking, wedding ceremonies and seeing the community’s performance. Home stay or participatory rest houses within the community have the following objectives: it is an activity where the community and people in the community are the owner of the project and who receive benefits from these tourism activities. Home stay tourism is an important driver of learning, exchange and strengthening value of community and it is also conservation of environment and cultural preservation.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (1999) defined that homestay tourism was developing tourism in rural areas, in order to bring benefits to the community. This homestay tourism is a new form of tourism based on ecotourism such as trekking. Homestay responds to the tourists’ needs properly and emphasizes quality more than quantity; it also develops cultural value and ecosystems. The community would have a definite participation in each operation such as controlling the number of tourists visiting in area and providing information to visitors.
Aunnop Bunchan (2001) stated that homestay is the rest-house based on community participation; that the price of staying is low and that the tourists have to stay with the host. The homestay visitors are interested in locals’ life styles and they are able to spend time in this area. The tourists will learn about culture, local ways of life and they are able to stay more than one night. The hosts will develop their houses, based on indigenous culture and serve tourists with activities as cleaning the toilets and bedrooms. The hosts have to treat the visitors as members of the family and involve them in activities and share experiences.
Apinan Buahapakdee (1999) pointed out that homestay was a pattern of ecotourism that focuses on tourists learning locals’ life style in the community, study and stay with villagers in the community. As described above in various concepts, homestay is a pattern of community
participation in tourism management. Homestay visitors are able to stay with the hosts in the community and they aim to study locals’ traditional culture. Tourists are aware of the importance of environmental conservation and cultural preservation. They have to respect the community’s tradition. Moreover, the hosts have to be involved with tourists in the same way as they are with family members. Homestay activities are concerned with learning the life style in the community. As for staying overnight, the tourists should agree with the homestay concept before visiting and taking part in activities in the community. In other words, Kerala, homestay is one pattern of the tourism industry that arranges tourism to obtain the following objectives.
To develop awareness and understanding among the tourists regarding the environment and the economy
To enhance experience and value to the tourists or visitors
To improve quality of life for local residents
To maintain the value of traditional culture and the quality of the environment
In Kerala, Homestay tourism provides a unique experience for the tourists. Foreigners preferred to stay in local houses like thatched huts, small cottages and tree houses to experience the local life. The main aims of homestays are to learn and experience different culture and tradition for both the host and the guest. Literally homestays are home away from home.
The department of tourism divided the homestays into three categories according to the quality of the service providing by the Homestay owner’s. They are Diamond House, Gold House and Silver House. This status has subtitled accordingly to meet the criteria’s demanded by the tourism department.
However, the benefits of Homestay operators are very important. They can earn additional income apart from their regular household income. They will get financial support from the government for renovating houses and moreover they can use Kerala tourism brand as a marketing tool [keralatourism.org]
