Coastal tourism and beach sustainability – an assessment of community perceptions in Kovalam, India
Coastal areas are among the most densely populated zones worldwide and at the same time subjected to rapid environmental changes due to their land-sea interface locations. The phenomenal growth of coastal tourism in the last few decades, especially in the tropical countries, has created environmen...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM,Bangi
2012
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5652/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5652/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5652/1/8.geografia-okt%25202012-proshanta-english-am.pdf |
| Summary: | Coastal areas are among the most densely populated zones worldwide and at the same time subjected to rapid
environmental changes due to their land-sea interface locations. The phenomenal growth of coastal tourism in the
last few decades, especially in the tropical countries, has created environmental havocs by drastically altering the
local ecological milieu in which the indigenous communities have thrived for generations. Kovalam, a coastal
village of Kerala, India, has been studied to assess the status of beach dependent tourism and its impact on the
sustainability of beaches in the long run through participatory community appraisals. It was found that standing
on the thin line between survival and destruction, the coastal village of Kovalam needs more such
initiatives from all corners of the society to protect itself from the havocs created by the consumerist
urban-industrial culture. In this context sSeveral development oriented guidelines were forwarded to initiate ecofriendly
tourism, primarily based on local community endeavors, which will in turn enhance the local resource pool. |
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