Abstract
This paper begins with the contention that over-economic determinism, involved in the globalisation of Indian tourism, has robbed the tinge of indignity which is so crucial for integrating the spirit of tourism with cultural diversity. Regarding tourism itself, its practice with a sufficiently open mind can lead it to become an irreplaceable factor of self-education, mutual tolerance, and learning about the legitimate differences between people, cultures, and their diversities. However, as the paper highlights, under the penetrative impact of capitalist globalisation, the structuring and sponsoring of tourism by a neoliberal State, especially in rural areas, merely seems to cater to the obtrusive assertions of a late capitalist politico-economic order, a sense of an ontological inevitability of instrumental rationality and effective productivity which is engendered by unrestrained market forces. In the light of this, the paper seeks to unfold the argument that the micro-economic structures as well as local cultural forms in the Indian countryside are facing corrosive effects which has thwarted the very spirit of rural landscape heritage. Lasting partnerships with indigenous communities for responsible tourism and sustainable growth, besides revival of local economies and devising of alternate livelihoods, may halt this process of decadence. We finally put forth certain recommendations for the development of strategies, conducive towards accomplishing the overall objectives of sustainable development, rather than a parochial oversimplification of all human activities under the genre of market rationality.
Published Version
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