CULTURAL TOURISM

IN
INDIA
wilsontom.blogspot.com

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION
CULTURAL TOURISM
FEATURES OF CULTURAL TOURISM
CULTURAL TOURISM IN INDIA
CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS IN INDIA
IMPACT OF CULTURAL TOURISM
CONCLUSIONS
SUGGESTIONS

INTRODUCTION
The name India comes from the word
Indus, which has been derived from
the Persian word for Hindu, from
Sanskrit word Sindhu.
Now India is popularly know as
Bharat and also Hindustan
Since ancient times, India has been
known for its culture, heritage, and
tradition.

 The Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya

Pradesh are the earliest known traces of
human life in India.
India has been ruled by numbers of rulers
including Rajputs , Mughals , English,
and Portuguese etc.
Major dhrmic religions which were
founded in India include Hinduism,
Buddhism ,Sikhism and Jainism.
Because of this there have been a
diversity in the culture of India which has
made it a very popular tourist destination.

CULTURAL TOURISM
Culture, has been defined as the whole complex of
distinctive spiritual, intellectual, & emotional
features that characterize a society or social
group. It includes not only the arts and letters,
but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of
a human being, value systems, traditions and
beliefs.
Tourism is the activities of persons traveling to and
staying in places outside their usual environment for
not more than one consecutive year for leisure,
business and other purposes not related to the exercise
of an activity remunerated from within the place
visited.

 Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism

concerned with a country or region's
culture, specifically the lifestyle of the
people in those geographical areas, the
history of those peoples, their art,
architecture, religions, and other elements
that helped shape their way of life.
Cultural tourism includes tourism in urban
areas, particularly historic or large cities and
their cultural facilities such as museums and
theatres. It can also include tourism in rural
areas showcasing the traditions of indigenous
cultural communities (i.e. festivals, rituals),
and their values and lifestyle.

FEATURES OF CULTURAL TOURISM

builds on and markets cultural strengths
emphasizes the quality and authenticity
of the visitors experience
aims not simply to describe, but to convey
meaning and understanding of broad
contexts
meets the visitors demand for knowledge
conveys the richness and diversity of a
place or culture

 It is active and involving for both visitors and host

communities
It can create new tourism product from people - it
does not depend on high levels of new capital
investment
It recognizes the dynamic and changing nature of
culture
It develops visitor and site management programs
It develops interpretation programs designed to
inform, educate and interest visitors
It can minimize the environmental degradation and
cultural exploitation which accompany some forms of
tourism
It is carefully targeted to meet the interests of
particular market segments

CULTURAL TOURISM IN INDIA

Culture Tourism has a special place in
India because of its past civilization as
India has been considered the land of
ancient history, heritage, and culture.
Historical and archaeological monuments
continue to be the biggest draw in
attracting international tourists. This fact
has been confirmed by a survey
undertaken by the pacific area travel
association (PATA).

 The government of India has set up the

Ministry of Tourism and Culture to boost
cultural tourism in India. The ministry in
recent years has launched the Incredible
India! campaign and this has led to the
growth of culture tourism in India.
The most popular states in India for cultural
tourism are:
Kerala
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
Uttaranchal

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS IN INDIA

HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY:
Our historical and archaeological monuments continue to be the biggest draw in
attracting international tourists.
MUSIC:
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music
and R&B. Indian music covers a wide range of traditions and regional styles. Classical
music largely encompasses the two genres North Indian Hindustani, South
Indian Carnatic traditions and their various forms of regional folk music.
FESTIVALS:
Many festivals are religious in origin, although several are celebrated irrespective of
caste and creed. Some popular festivals are Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Thai
Pongal, Holi, Onam, Vijayadashami, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, Buddha
Jayanti, Moharram and Vaisakhi.
DANCE:
Dance in India covers a wide range of dance and dance theatre forms. From the ancient
classical or temple dance to folk and modern styles. There are hundreds of Indian folk
dances such as Bhangra, Bihu, Ghumura Dance, Sambalpuri, Chhau and Garba and
special dances observed in regional festivals.

 ART AND CRAFT :

Indian art and craft can be classified into specific periods each reflecting
particular religious, political and cultural developments.
1. Ancient period(3500BCE-1200CE)
2. Islamic ascendancy(1192-1757)
3. Colonial period(17571947)
4. Independenceand thepostcolonialperiod (Post-1947)
. PILGRIMAGE:
India is a place of diverse pilgrimage centers directed towards various religions
such as Buddhism ,Muslim, Hindu, Christianity, Sikhism etc.
. CUISINES:
The cuisine in India is classified into three major categories. Sattva, Rajas, and
Tamas. Satva which stand for balance, Rajas stands for passion, and Thamas
stands for indulgence. Food is consumed according to the lifestyle of the
person. For example:When a person tries to lead his life in want of self
realisaiton, he would prefer a Satvic food or known as Sattvic diet, which would
help to keep his mind in balance.
. CLOTHING:
Traditional clothing in India greatly varies across different parts of the country
and is influenced immensely by local culture, geography and climate. Popular
styles of dress include draped garments such as sari for women and dhoti or
lungi for men; in addition, stitched clothes such as churidar for women and
kurta-pyjama.

IMPACT OF CULTURAL TOURISM

Environmental Effects:

Preservation of National Heritage and Environment: Tourism helps preserve several places
which are of historical importance by declaring them as heritage sites. For instance, the Taj Mahal,
the Qutab Minar, Ajanta and Ellora temples, etc, would have been decayed and destroyed had it not
been for the efforts taken by Tourism Department to preserve them.

Depletion of Local resources: Tourism can create great pressure on local resources like energy,
food, and other raw materials that may already be in short supply.

Cultural Effects:

Source of Foreign Exchange Earnings: Tourism is an important source of foreign exchange

earnings in India.
Undesirable Social and Cultural Change: Tourism sometimes led to the destruction of the social
fabric of a community. The more tourists coming into a place, the more the perceived risk of that
place losing its identity. A good example is Goa. From the late 60's to the early 80's when the Hippy
culture was at its height, Goa was a haven for such hippies. Here they came in thousands and
changed the whole culture of the state leading to a rise in the use of drugs, prostitution and human
trafficking. This had a ripple effect on the country

Social Effects:

Contributions to Government Revenues :The Indian government through the tourism

department also collect money in more far-reaching and indirect ways that are not linked to
specific parks or conservation areas. User fees, income taxes, renting recreation
equipment, and license fees for activities such as rafting and fishing can provide
governments with the funds needed to manage natural resources.
Increase Tension and Hostility: Tourism can increase tension, hostility, and suspicion
between the tourists and the local communities when there is no respect and
understanding for each others culture and way of life.

Economic Effects

Generating Income and Employment: Tourism in India has emerged as an instrument of

income and employment generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable human
development. It contributes 6.23% to the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment
in India. Almost 20 million people are now working in the Indias tourism industry.

Developing Infrastructure: Tourism tends to encourage the development of multiple-use

infrastructure that benefits the host community, including various means of transports,
health care facilities, and sports centers, in addition to the hotels and high-end restaurants
that cater to foreign visitors.

CONCLUSION
For all foreign tourists, any visit to India is a form
of cultural tourism. There are however those
with more explicit interests in the monumental
heritage, the religious heritage, the natural
heritage, traditional arts and crafts, music and
dance and those help in formulation its scope.
Tourism industry in India is growing and it has
vast potential for generating employment and
earning large amount of foreign exchange
besides giving a fillip to the countrys overall
economic and social development.

SUGGESTIONS
AS THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN
GROWING..INDIA
HOULD
FOCUS
MORE
AND
MORE
ON
THE
PROMOTION SUSTAINABLE TOURISM.
Many of our old monuments are like
our lost primary resources. These can
be restored to revive our rich art and
culture to become sites of tourist
attractions.

For adventurous travel blog please visit

http://wilsontom.blogspot.com/

THANK YOU