Shodh Prabha: A Multidisciplinary Journal

Role of Tourism in Sustainable Development of the Western Ghats

The western ghats, which is one of the eight hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world, is vital in ensuring that the India ecology is balanced. The region boasts of abundant natural and cultural heritage, which has made it a major tourist destination experience by both local and foreign tourists. The potential of the Western Ghats in terms of sustainable development through offering job opportunities, supporting local entrepreneurship and increasing environmental awareness is very vast. Unregulated tourism however presents grave challenges in form of deforestation, pollution and degradation of culture. The paper will focus on the two-sidedness of tourism as an economic growth determinant and a possible environmental imbalance. It discusses the role of sustainable tourism practices, including community-based ecotourism, responsible tourism practices and proper policy execution in bringing about harmony between development and conservation. The research comes to the conclusion that the balanced strategy, including the local input, environmentally-friendly infrastructure, and tough regulatory measures, is needed in order to make the tourism in the Western Ghats sustainable in the long-term.