PRESENTATION ON

UTTARAKHAND SWOT

ANALYSIS

UTTARAKHAND FAST FACTS

Capital – Dehradun

Established- 9 November 2000

Largest city –Dehradun

Population- 8,479,562

Literacy- 72%

Language(s)- Hindi, Kumaoni, Garhwali

Area- 53,566 km²

Website: ua.nic.in

INTRODUCTION-

Located in the northern part of India

Source of the Ganges

Vyas Maharishi author of Mahabharat is believed to have lived in the caves of Uttarakhand

Became the 27th state of the Republic of India on 9 November 2000

Borders Tibet in north, Nepal in east & Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in the west and south respectively

CONT’D..

In January 2007, the name of the state was officially

changed from Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand.

The provisional capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun

which is also a rail-head and the largest city in the region

The High Court of the state is in Nainital.

Uttarakhand is the birthplace of the Chipko

environmental movement and the mass agitation in the

1990s that led to its formation.

TOURISM ZONES

Zone 1: Dehradun, Musoorie, Haridwar, Rishikesh

and Environs,International Gateway at Jolly Grant

Airport

Zone 2: Nainital Lake District and

Environs, International Gateway at Pantnagar

Airport

Zone 3: Corbett National Park

West, Landsdowne, Pauri and Environs

Zone 4: Uttarkashi, Gangotri, Tehri Lake, Domestic

Gateway at Chinyalisaur Airport

Zone 5: Pithoragarh, Thal to Munsiyari (Lower

Johar Valley), Almora,Champawat, Domestic

Gateway at Naini Saini Airport

Zone 6: Badrinath, Kedarnath, Valley of

Flowers, Domestic Gateway at Gauchar Airport

Zone 7: Yamunotri, Chakrata and Mori (Tons River)

ZONE 1

Dehradun

Mussoorie and Environs

Kempty Falls

Dhanaulti and Environs

Chamba and Environs

Haridwar

Rishikesh / Muni Ki Reti

Rajaji National Park

ZONE 2

Nainital and the Lake

District

Ramnagar

Kaladhungi

Corbett National Park

East

Mukteshwar

Bhowali

Ramgarh

ZONE 3

Pauri Town and

Environs

Khirsu

Lansdown

Rural Villages

Devaprayag

Srinagar Town

ZONE 4

Gangotri

Harsil Township

Dayara Bugyal

Uttarkashi Town

Chinyalisaur

Tehri Lake

New Tehri Town

ZONE 5

Pithoragarh Town

Champawat Town

Abbott Mountain

Pancheshwar

Tanakpur

Binsar Wild Life Sanctuary

Almora

Ranikhet

Kausani

Baijnath

Bageshwar Town

Chaukori

ZONE 6

Kedarnath Town

Badrinath Town

Josimath Town

The Valley of Flowers National Park

Gauchar

Pokhri

Nanda Devi National Park

Devaprayag Town

Rudraprayag Town

Karnaprayag Town

Nandprayag

Vishnuprayag

ZONE 7

The Yamunotri Char Dham

Tons River

Jaunsari Tribal Villages

Chakrata Hill Station and Cantonment

CURRENT TOURISM SCENARIO IN

UTTARAKHAND

Has a total area of 53,483 sq.km. with an exceptional

landscape of the highest scenic quality

65 per cent of the land area of the State is forest or forest

reserve

State has a population of around 8.4 million with many

small communities in scattered hilltop and valley

settlements

Located approximately 250 km from New Delhi,

Uttarakhand is easily reachable by road and rail service

CONT’D….

Transportation within the State is similarly impeded by

long travelling hours both by road and rail

Peak season from mid-June to approximately early

September and during winter.

There are two airports and a number of airstrips located

near the larger urban areas

Initiatives to foster village and local community

participation in tourism.

TOURIST ARRIVAL IN 2006

Domestic tourists

18.99 MILLION

International tourists

0.1MILLION

CONTRIBUTION BY TOURISM

INDUSTRY

Contribution to SGDP

4.4%

Share in employment

2%

ISSUES AND PROBLEMS

Existing hill resort areas have developed in an unplanned

fashion with poor design

Congested inadequate infrastructure and limited

attractions.

Local road infrastructure, linking areas to National

Highway from Delhi, is generally badly maintained.

Tourism Training or rather the sort of Tourism training

that is needed to foster next generation of tourism

OVERALL SWOT ANALYSIS FOR

UTTARAKHAND

STRENGTHS

A net work of magnificent rivers (Ganges, Yamuna and

its tributaries)

Beautiful lakes and streams

Winter Sports facilities at Auli

Fishing and water sports facilities (Lohaghat, Kodyala )

Existing range of trekking paths and circuits

Wide range of wildlife, including species of world-wide

significance (tiger, leopard, bear etc)

CONT’D…

Selection of wildlife sanctuaries of world significance

Variety of landscapes

Successful conservation regulations curbing

encroachment of development into natural areas;

World class tourism assets and in some cases unique to

attract a varied clientele;

Committed private sector associations, particularly in the

hotel sector;

Substantial funds allocated to annual marketing

campaigns by the public sector in 2006 and 2007;

Sites of significant cultural, historic and archaeological

value;

Places of religious and spiritual significance, aligned

with geographical features (Char Dham Circuit, source

of the Ganges, numerous ashrams and temples);

Well established spiritual products (Ashrams, yoga

centres, meditation retreats) for both domestic and the

international market.

WEAKNESSES

Many natural areas reflect man-made influences;

Lack of proper accessibility;

Almost all urban environments are very poor quality in

terms of overall appearance

Little to no interpretation of the natural environment

Little to no awareness of potential and needs of eco and

nature tourism among many operators and Government

agencies;

CONT’D…

Strict conservation laws hinders ecotourism and other

developments

Lack of conservation management in many popular

tourist spots such as Gangotri;

Little design quality in development of tourism facilities

as exemplified at many Government Guest Houses;

Lack of coordination among Government agencies;

Lack of efficient public transportation;

Lack of traffic management in towns and villages

Lack of community understanding and participation in

tourism in many areas;

Low environmental awareness among overall

population, domestic tourists, resort owners and

developers;

Little awareness of Uttarakhand as a tourism destination

in the international market, or indeed as a major

Himalayan destination;

Branding adopted by the State is inadequate

Competition from other States (Himachal Pradesh and

Kashmir and the Northeastern States)

Other Himalayan countries or areas are better known in

the international market such as Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet

in China;

Lack of a marketing strategy for the State;

Scattergun approach to media advertising in expensive

publications;

Mismatch between the perception of quality and comfort

implied in the advertising

Lack of coordination and dialogue between the different

branches of the public sector involved in tourism

promotion

Inconsistent and generally poor quality offered in

accommodation

Unfair competitive practice through the use public

money to maintain and build public sector

accommodation and other tourist facilities;

Monopoly enjoyed by the public sector in the advertising

of its accommodation and other services in brochures

created by the Tourism Department;

Absence of an efficient statistical system for

measurement of tourism demand and supply as well as

economic and social impact.

Lack of market research to understand the profile of

visitors, their perceptions, demands and satisfaction

levels

The district tourist offices lack manpower

Poor electricity supply due to brown-outs and black-

outs

Poor telecommunications

OPPORTUNITIES

Very large, overall carrying capacity given the immensity

of the natural environment;

Huge potential for nature tourism

Vast opportunities for nature and adventure tourism such

as rafting;

Potentially large domestic market offers specific niche

opportunities for ecotourism;

Increasing international market, based on expatriate

workers in Delhi and other major cities;

CONT’D…

Some private sector experience in running quality

tourism accommodation;

Relatively large rural population offers opportunities for

local training and participation in tourism

Potential future market for luxury second homes/holiday

homes in many areas of the lesser Himalayas (e.g.

Almora, Bageshwar Ridge and Garur)

International renown of Ganges as a holy river and

Himalayas as a natural attraction;

Increasing spending power and leisure aspirations of

domestic market favours accessible tourist hotspots such

as Nainital;

Hill stations at Almora, Nainital and

Bageshwar, Mussoorie and Kausani offer a solid basis

for developing quality resorts;

Planned development of domestic airports will boost

week-end market from Delhi and other cities

Cluster of higher education facilities in Dehradun

Self-contained nature of valleys and limited accessibility

should be conducive

Cultural distinctiveness in dress, folklore and local

products can promote village development

Engaging persons with high professional knowledge can

establish a lean and efficient market research unit.

A marketing strategy can be formulated which will

allocate resources and responsibilities in a well designed

plan

The international market can be made aware through

well thought out campaigns

Domestic tourists can be made aware of the range of

opportunities that can be enjoyed in the State;

Facilities and services can be upgraded to an appropriate

level for the targeted markets;

Public institutions and the private sector can coordinate

their marketing efforts and work in partnership;

GMVN and KMVN corporations can reassess their role

in developing and supporting the tourism sector in the

State

Great potential for mountaineering and high-altitude

trekking out of towns that can be reached by road

(Gangotri, Munsiyari).

THREATS

Continued neglect of urban environments, basic

amenities and overall cleanliness (e.g. food preparation)

Continued lack of understanding and application of

ecotourism principles

Over-development at certain scenic or religious spots

(e.g. Nainital and Gangotri)

Over zealous conservation regulations in forest areas will

hold back ecotourism development

CONT’D…

Lack of effective management plans

Success of wildlife reserves will increase conflicts

between certain species (elephants, leopards) and local

villagers

Additional traffic and pollution from cars and visitors

Continued poor environmental awareness of general

population and tourists

Ill-conceived accommodation or other tourism

developments at sensitive sites

Poorly conceived development and low awareness of

landscape design

Continued poor maintenance of roads

Little to no participation of local people in tourism

High spending tourists will continue to opt for other

destinations if improvements in quality of tourism

products, sanitation and accessibility fail to materialize;

Global warming

Availability of drugs and lack of policing about this issue

Continued competition and provision of poor quality

facilities by the public sector

Unfocused marketing campaigns;

Lack of coordination between different public sector

bodies as well as the private sector

Implying high quality facilities in the advertising

message without delivering the amenities and services

will have a negative effect on the image of the State;

Establishment and/or upgrading of airports and helipads

without improving access roads to these facilities will

reduce their desired effect on enhancing access