Infrastructure services and sustainable tourism an exploratory study in Kashmir Valley

Abstract

Developed and developing nations, adopt sustainable development as a policy strategy to ensure the present and future capabilities of people, resources, environment and economy by implementing it in the tourism sector through various policies and programmes. At present, tourism potential nations, face destination sustainability issues in various junctures of tourism sector. Therefore, international tourism agencies and nations focus on sustainable tourism through infrastructure development and improved service delivery that aims to ensure present and future capabilities of tourism industry, its stakeholders, economic, environmental and institutional sustainability of tourism destinations, all over the globe. Consequently, destinations that are bound to ensure service delivery, requires support from infrastructure facilities, namely road and transportation, hotel and lodging, markets and malls, public utilities, finance, sports and entertainment but the practice of negligence in the part of infrastructure as well as services and mass tourism aiming for economic benefits badly affects tourism sustainability. However, Kashmir is substantially different from other states of India as it is highly dependent on tourism, provides attractive tourism products and has unique geography that enables this industry to offer a wide range of choices, attracting tourists in all seasons. This study explores interlinkages between status of infrastructure, its role in services and their implications on sustainable tourism with particular reference to Kashmir Valley by covering its five main destinations and its stakeholders. newline