Effects of Tourism on the

Local Community- A case of

Varanasi City
Seminar report and technical Writing
Ankit Kumar|2021murp034
School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal
Inception of the topic

• Regional Planning Studio - Regional development Regional

Plan for Varanasi.

• My group was working on Tourism sector.

• Created interest to study the impact of tourism

which affect the local community, i.e., on their
economy, their activity pattern and livelihood etc..

• A field trip to Varanasi, gave experience of the local

community which were affected by the tourism.

• This inspired to do research on this topic. Regional

• This research also helped in studio work to suggest

some relevant proposals related to tourism.

Source: Google images

Research topic:
“Effects of Tourism on the Local Community- A case of Varanasi City.”

Aim:
To find and analyze the impacts of tourism on the local community of Varanasi City.

Objective:
• To observe the economic, Socio-cultural and environmental impact of tourism on the locals.
Introduction:

• A “local community” is a collection of people who interact and share an

environment."

• Tourism is intertwined with a variety of disciplines and sciences, including

psychology, sociology, economics, physical education, geography, and others.

• One of the world's largest and fastest expanding industries (66% of GDP of
tertiary sector)
• Varanasi as religious capital of India (Kashi)

• Varanasi city as mythological belief, culture, multiple religion, local arts &
craft handicrafts renowned city.

• City’s characteristic is alive since a long time.

• Creates multiple impacts on the local community.

• It benefits the local community as well as it affects negatively too.

• This research talks about the impacts that tourism impose on the Local
community of Varanasi.
Source: Das, D., 2008. A QFD Approach to Addressing the Impacts of Tourism Development, s.l.: Researchgate. Source: Problems of Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Urban Area: A Case Study of Varanasi
Methodology

Literature review

Finding different impacts of

Tourism

Sampling and survey(Interview)

Local people perception

Findings and Discussion

Conclusion and outcomes

Source: Google images

Literature Review
Different impacts of Tourism on Local community:
Economic impacts of tourism
• Tourism help to boost the GDP.
• Tourism is a source of foreign exchange money for poor countries,
• It helps to alleviate poverty through significant fiscal actions.
Socio-cultural impact
• Tourism provides social benefits having positive impact on society.
• Include activities such as preserving local culture, tradition, and heritage, developing communities, offering social
services, monetizing culture and art, revitalizing old customs and art forms etc. .

Environmental impacts of tourism

• Direct impact on the air, soil, water, and biota in the surrounding region,
• While indirect effects are linked to material creation, production, and transportation.
• Waste and pollution can have a direct influence on natural places like protected lands and parks.
• The incorporation of solid waste and increased pollution is linked to the growth of the tourism sector.
• Individuals begin to build structures without formal planning approval, causing significant environmental harm.
Sampling and survey(Interview)
Interviews in Varanasi City From March 25, 2022, to March 30, 2022
• 25 Participants
• Stratified random Sampling
• Participants were more than and equals to 18-year-old.
• 3 types of potential respondents:
• Local Citizens,
• Local business employee
• Owners
• Every participant was surveyed at about 10-15 minutes on average.
Sampling and survey(Interview)
Pre-set questions to be asked in the interview

• Has the development of tourism had any direct impact on you, your family, or your business? If so, how?

• To what extent do you believe the tourism business has benefited the local economy and surrounding
community?
• Has the tourism business had any negative ramifications in Varanasi? If that's the case, how may they be
handled or reduced?
• Would you wish to seeing Varanasi’s tourism industry developed? If so, in what capacity? Why not, if not?
Local people’s perception about Impact of Tourism

Economic impact
• Tourism helps to develop the local economy.
• Tourism creates more job opportunities.
• Tourism increases the cost of commodities and services.
• Tourism raises living standards

• Tourism raises living expenses.

• Tourism raises labour seasonality.

• Tourism improves the quality of life of locals.

• Tourism helps communities to upgrade their infrastructure.

Local people’s perception about Impact of Tourism

Socio- Cultural impact

• Tourism contributes to cultural pride.
• Tourism helps to maintain cultural heritage values.
• Tourism exacerbates parking issues.
• Tourism enables visitors to interact with one another.
• Tourism stimulates interest in protecting historic structures and archaeological sites and cultural
activities.
• Tourism provides chances for education.
• Leisure activities are facilitated by tourism.
• Tourism raises the number of traffic accidents.
• Tourism encourages deception and fraud.
• Tourism increases serious crimes in the city
Local people’s perception about Impact of Tourism

Environmental impact
• Tourism contributes to pollution.
• Tourism leads to agglomerations of public facilities

• The riverfront is damaged by tourism.

• Tourism aids the conservation of natural resources.

• The city's attractiveness is improved by tourism.

Conclusion
• Region's socio-economic prosperity.
• Employment opportunities.
• Quality of life.
• Sharing beliefs, customs, traditions, and ways of life.
• Tourism policymakers to efficiently directing and utilizing limited resources in tourism-related activities.
• Research, have found that tourism expansion has positive and negative consequences.
• Impact analysis for the development of tourism planning.
• Policy maker and planner should work on to enhance and promote the social and cultural exchange activity of the
Varanasi city,
• Place should be managed and developed to revive and promote community pride.
• Should have some work awareness program to protect and respect the heritage of the Varanasi city.
• The findings will aid tourism policymakers in measuring the effects of development of tourism in any tourist place
and, ultimately, in efficiently directing and utilizing limited resources in tourism-related activities.
References….
1. ALSHUWAIKHAT, 2005. Strategic environmental assessment can help solve environmental impact assessment failures in
developing countries, s.l.: elsevier.
2. Andereck, 2016. Resident A Resident Attitude attitude towards Tourism – The State of tourism – The State of Knowledge, s.l.:
TRAVEL AND TOURISM RESEARCH ASSOCIATION: ADVANCING TOURISM RESEARCH GLOBALLY.
3. Das, D., 2008. A QFD Approach to Addressing the Impacts of Tourism Development, s.l.: Researchgate.
4. Yogesh Hole, 2019. The significance of pilgrimage tourism to sustainable development with special reference to the Indian
context, Department of Public Administration Cihan University-Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
5. Cohen, R. J., 1984. Rapid Assessment of Tourism Impacts through Community Participation—A Pilot Study in Cuba for
Projecting New Strategies of Management, s.l.: Scientific research.
6. Das, D., 2009. • An assessment of the impact of tourism development at Varanasi: perspectives of local tourism businesses,
s.l.: International journal of tourism policy.
7. Gjerald, O., 2005. Sociocultural Impacts of Tourism: A Case Study from Norway, s.l.: Reseachgate.
8. Dadakalandar U* and Sujatha P, 2018. A Study on Impacts of Pilgrimage Tourism with Respect to Annavaram,Satya
Narayana Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh, Department of Tourism Management, Vikrama Simhapuri University, Nellore,
India
9. Xiaoming (Rose) Liu and Jun (Justin) Li, 2018. Host Perceptions of Tourism Impact and Stage of Destination Development in
a Developing Country.
10. Asa, A. R., 2022. impact of of tourism in local community, s.l.: Namibia university 0f science and technology.
Thank you….
Ankit Kumar|2021murp034
School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal