Assessing Opportunities and Constraints of Community Engagement in Tourism Development at Hampi

Assessing Opportunities and Constraints of Community Engagement in Tourism Development at Hampi

Community Based Tourism will create a momentous milestone in improving the participation level of local communities in the arena of Heritage tourism as well as all the various branches of the travel and expedition industry. Whose heritage is being preserved, by whom, and for what purposes? (Shepherd 2006). This study particularly gives due emphasis on evaluating the level of participation from the resident???s part by assessing various development strategies offered by the respective authorities. The study also tries to address all the possible streams where the community can easily thrive and it also addresses the major obstacles which restricts their entry, indicating an inclusive approach towards community participation through community based tourism (CBT). Lack of cooperation among stakeholders was identified as challenges of CBT, (Tamir 2015). Tourism market of Hampi is developing year by year but the standard of living of the underprivileged community is always remains the same without any improvement and this is the core problem mentioned in the study. Quantitative research technique was used for the study with the help of a structured questionnaire which was used for collecting data. The collected data was analyzed with the help of quantitative data analysis software, SPSS. This research tries to bring out the various reasons behind the low level of community involvement in tourism industry with relevant evidence from the analyzed data. The study indicates the hopelessness of the community towards the major development strategies forwarded by the authorities especially Hampi Master Plan. It also addresses the poor level of education and lack of information about the potential of tourism employability and its scope in the field of community development. A unique relic of medieval commerce and religious faith into a lifeless ruin, (John and Michell2012) this study pinpoints the inefficiency of the tourism boards and poor functioning of other responsible authorities too. It VII also invokes the possibilities of promoting Agro-Tourism along with the existing Heritage tourism. There is enough scope for further study in the light of execution of CBT model as well as assessing the scope of Agro tourism in Hampi. This suggestion is propounded mainly because of the structural phase of the economy that is more than 70% of the working population is involved in agriculture and its allied sectors. There is a noticeable gap between the expectations of the local residents and what they are actually receiving from the authorities moreover, these entire gaps may hamper the idea of inclusive approach. If effective training and regular awareness creation program is initiated by the responsible authorities, it will create a better platform for inclusive approach.

Retheesh P T

Tourism