Dehradun: Social Development for Communities Foundation released a report titled ‘”Analyzing The Tourist Pattern in Chardham Region Of Uttarakhand.” Abhiti Mishra, a student of Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore prepared the report under the guidance of Ashutosh Kandwal, Co-Founder of SDC.
Based on the available data from government sources, the report analyses the patterns of pilgrims coming to Uttarakhand with particular reference to the Chardhams of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri along with the towns of Srinagar, Rudraprayag, Joshimath and Uttarkashi.
Using a regression model, the report predicts the number of tourists that will likely visit the state during the five year period from 2019 to 2023. The report also examines the dip in tourism after the flash foods of 2013 and the recovery hence.
The report concludes that the Chardham region including Srinagar, Rudraprayag, Joshimath and Uttarkashi will amass 16.36% of the total tourist arrivals to Uttarakhand in 2021. More than 55 lakh tourists will visit Chardham in 2020 and the number is predicted to reach 80 lakhs by 2023.
In 2012, a whooping 55.3 lakh visitors visited Chardham, but from 2012 to 2014 there was a 93% decline in the number, with an all-time low of just 8.4 lakh tourists, in 2014. From 2016 to 2018 there has been phenomenal growth in tourist numbers of about 70%.
Ashutosh Kandwal said that the report can help government agencies, policy-makers and district authorities to better plan and accommodate the increasing number of tourists in the area and to manage the waste generated by them. In recent years the huge influx of tourists in such an ecologically sensitive zone has raised questions about the sustainability and environmental impacts from the tourism industry. Unscientific and unplanned disposal of trash has also emerged as a major concern, Kandwal added.
SDC Foundation will be sharing its findings with the government authorities. It has advocated that detailed studies need to be conducted to increase the preparedness of Uttarakhand for the Char Dham Yatra.
