UNIT 25 VISITOR BEHAVIOUR 'j

Structure
25.0 Objectives
25.1 Introduction
25.2 Defining a Visitor
25.3 India : Destinations and Visitors
25.4 Visitor Behaviour and Environment
25.4.1 Visitor and Physical Environment
25.4.2 Socio-cultural Environment and Visitor Behaviour
25.4.3 Visitor Behaviour and Emnomic Environment
25.5 Checking the Imbalance
255.1 Role of Visitors
25.5.2 Role of Other Authorities
25.6 Let Us Sum Up
25.7 Answers To Check Your Progress Exercises

25.0 OBJECTIVES 5
Tourism today plays a decisive role in the world economy. In fact, travel and tourism taken
together constitute the largest industry in terms of turnover and employment. The potential
is increasing day by day because of a tremendous upsurge in the number of visitors, both
international and domestic. However, whereas visitors have been a source of a lucrative
business proposition, multi-million dollar industry, one should not forget thi fact that, in
instances, because of their irresponsible behaviour, tourists have played a havoc with the
environment. Our objectives in this Unit, therefore, have been to make you:
understand the meaning of the term visitor,
aware of a hrief history of the tourists and their increasing importancein the present day
world,
realise the implications of an irresponsibletourist behaviour,
appreciate the need for an eco-sensitivebehaviour on the part of the visitors, and
aware of certain measures to keep visitor-environment equiliFxium in place.

25.1 INTRODUCTION '$

Needless, it is, at this stage, to say that tourism because of the volume of people that take to
travel constitutes a major source of income for any country. An indexof the phenomena would
perhaps make the subject more illustrative. According to World Tourism Organisation
(WTO),about 500 million tourists travelled internationally in 1993, spending about USS304
billion. Tourism accounts for 8 per cent of total world exports, more than 30 per cent of
international trade in services and more than 100 million jobs worldwide. It employs more
people than any other single industrial sector and has an infrastructural (loading,
transportation and restaurants) investmeit estimated to exceed USS3 trillion. To say that
this is possible because of an ever expanding traffic of visitors to places of tourist importance
is to state the obvious. According to World Tourism Organiaation N O ) international
tourists arrivals in South Asia are expected to grow at 5.25 per cent in the second half of the
nineties as against 4.4 per cent in the rest of the world. Of course, India raccwes the bulk of
tourist tr&c in South Asia. Taking into account such a &gh volume of visitors, visitor
behaviour assumes special importance especially as far as it's relationship with the
environment is concerned. However, before proceeding towards a discussion of visitor
behaviour, let us make ourselves aware of the word visitor.

' 25.2 DEFINING A VISITOR 3

In the context of tourism, a viaitor is to be identified with tourist itself. Hence for all practical
purposa, visitors are taken to mean tourists. In this Unit also the words visitore and tourists
+L..- ..a-A :-b--A.-..--LL.
md T-hom It is the tourist who is the principal character in the phenomenon called tourism. Without
'hisfher' being around, the tourism phenomenon is meaningless. The origin of the nard
'tourist' is traced to thirteenth century. It comes from the word 'tour' a deriq3ationof the Latin
word tornus meaning a tool for describing a circle or a turner's wheel. In the first half of the
seventeenth cenP,IryYthe term was first used for travelling from place to place, a journey, an
excursion, a circuitous journey touching the principal parts of a country or a region. Later
many defintions of general nature were given for the word tourist.
Realising the importance of collecting tourist statistics and of securing international
compatibility,the Commit lee d Statistical Experts of the League of Nations in the year 1937
establishedthe definition.The League of Nations with the concurrence of member countries
defined the term foreign tourist as : .pa
Any person visiting a country other than that in which he usually resides for a period of at
least 24 hours. The reasons for visiting any other country may be mans for pleasure,
domestic reasons, health, business, academics, representative meetings (scientific,
administrative, religious, sports, etc.). It also includes persons arriving h course of a sra
cruise even when they stay for less than 24 hours.
Unlike foreign tourist, there is no universally accepted definition for the term domestic
tourist. However, certain parameters need to be kept in mind:
Place of residence: it mostly refers to travel by country's residents within that temtory.

Geographical setting: is same as the national territory of the country concerned.

Duration of travel: by analogy, with the accepted definition of international tourist, the
domestic tourist is one who spends not less than 24 hours or makes an overnight stay away
from his usual residence.
Two more variables may be taken into account:
Dlstance travelled: may vary between 40-160 kms.

Motlvatlon: for a purpose other than exercising a gainful activity at the place visited.
Sometimes domestic tourism also includes holiday or leisure travel only. Let us now take a
brief look at the history of tourism and tourists and then examine the reason for the recent
spurt in tourist activity.

Tourist in a historical perspective

The focus of attention here will be on India. Down the annals of history, the conquering
Greeks, trading Romans, scholarly Chinese and the mercantile Arabs were some of the
people who had toured the country for some reason or other. It is to the detailed accounts
left behind by such immortal 'tourists' l i e Hieun Tsang, Pa Hien, Alberuni, Abdul R m q
and Marco Polo that we owe much of the knowledge of our country's past. Alboruui in his
book Kltabul Hlnd provides information about religion and philosophy, social organisation,
civil and religious laws, geography, cosmography, festivals, manners and customs and a wide
range of subjects.Albauni also gives agraphic account of Earth and India alongwithits rivers,
streams, mountain ranges, towns, the pcople etc. A l b e d also t a k about what in modern
day is termed as 'ecological balance' and the need to preserve nature, Like Alberuai, Babar
in his memoirs Babarnama, gives a detailed description of 'the long and broad country of
Hindustan'. He writes about the geography, the climate. While comparing India with Muslim
countries, he says India is a unique country. Its mountains, rivers, jungles, cities, fields,.
animals, vegetation, people, language, rainfall and winds all are different. Babar provides
illuminating description of the flora and fauna of India. Important as it may be, tourism
previously had never been a menace. Besides, tourism and the number of tourists Was very
restricted and controlled.Thanks to forces of modernization, industrialization,urbanization,
developmentsin transport and communication,the 'global village' has become very accessible
and human life very mechanical. In niodern day people travel to go away from the stress of
making decisions and of living in crowded and polluted cities. The human system is like a
battery which needs to be re-charged periodically; the old pattern of one vacation a ycar ha8
gradually been replaced by 2-3 vacations a year in modern consumer oriented societies.
India's share of the tourist traffic has been quite impressive. Close to 1.8million people came
to India from overseas in 1994. Domestic tourism has also mown at a faster Pace with the
 vmtor ~ehaviomr
growhg urge for holidays and greater availabiity of disposable income. The vastness of 'the
Indian experience', the diversified physiography, the intermingling of cultures makes India a
'heaven' for tourists.

WNS AND VISITORS 7

$ 2 5 3 INDIA :DESTMAT- --
In this Section,we shall examine the factcj:~which make India a rallying point vis-a-vis tourist
destinations znd kinds/typesof tourist sites, a visitor can be expected to visit. This will be good
material for understandingvisitor behaviour .
J
Geographically India comprises such distinct physical features as inhospitable snow, deserts,
and lofty mountain ranges, as rich alluvial plains, tropical rainforests and meandering
seashores.Ethnically the country parades an admixture of human races, encompassingwithin
P them the original inhabitants and the later immigrants, both invaders and settlers. This
country, where every form of human expression had found a fertile soil to blossom and bloom,
be it in the field of language, costume, cuisine, art or craft, had always been a tourists' delight
and travellers' destination.
The mind boggling variety in physical and cultural landscape fits in well with the tastes and
preferences of the tourists, who come from different places (both within and without the
country with different liking and interests.
The destinations visited depend upon a number of factors. Thus weather and climate exercise
a profound influence. People from hotter climates would like to visit hill stations Uie Simla,
Mussourie, Darjeeling, etc. For the domestic tourist, the seasons play an important role.
People from certain regions of North India, like Delhi, Agra, Allahabad would like to spend
their summers at hill stations or in South India or in the areas of maritime climate.
Interests of the people also matter much.Those interested in history, archaeology would like
to visit palaces, forts, excavated sites, and other places of historical importance. The visitors
interested in wildlife, or botanists, zoologists would prefer bud sanctuaries, botanical
gardens, wildlife reserves, etc. Those interested in business would like to restrict theu
movements to metropolitan centres like Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore, etc.
'"'Other tourists fascinated by the desire to see nature may visit valleys, beaches, hill stations,
etc. StiU others interested in culture would We to visit cultural sites like a crafts village,
interiors of Rajasthan, ethnic villages, etc.
There arc certain places which experiencetourist traffic all the year around for axample Goa,
Kovalam which besides themselves being important site6 play host to a variety of other
attractions like adventure sports.
Thus,briefly speakiq, the places visited may be categorid under the following heads :
-
f
I
Cultural sites like an ethnic village, craftsvillage,
Natural sites - like hills, beaches and harbours, ialands, valleys, deserts,
-
Widlife sites like wildlife reserves, botanical gardens,
I Places of historical importance - like Delhi, Agra, Jaipur,
-
Places of religious importance like tempk, towns of South India, Puri,
-
Business areas where there are well developed markets,
Places of academic interest like universities, etc.

Important thing to remember in this context is, that, whatever site a visitor visits, there is
always an interaction between the latter and the environment of the site concerned. This inter-
relationship is dynamic and mutual; both intluencing each other.

25.4 VISITOR BEHAVIOUR AND ENVIRONMENT 7

Behaviour connotes the way a visitor conducts himself, goes about the,place, and how he
interacts,how he spends, etc. In every aspect of his behaviour, avisitor affects the environment
whether in a positive or negative sense. It needs to be clarified, that, in this Section, we would
be more concerned with the adverse effects of the visitor behaviour. This is not, however, to
underscore the positive influences of the visitor behaviour. Our concern would focus mainly
on the 'patzsit'ric' tourists i.e. those who want to exploit the maximum out of their visit. It is
this section of the tourists who are k a ~bothered
t about the environment.This problem does
not exist with the educated and em-sensitive tourists.
To make this section simpler and more illustrative, we will break environment into various
components, for, environment does not only include the physical or biological environment,
but also socio-cultural environment. Our discussionwould centre around three components
viz.

physical environment,
socio-cultural environment, and
economic environment.

25.4.1 Visitor and Physical Environment

A visitor by many of his activities and ways may disturb the apparent physical surroundings
of a tourist destination. In such situations, the impact felt on the environment depends upon
the degree to which such environments are open to outside interference and the degree to
which such areas can withstand tourism. In many such unique environment, tourists are only
allowed day excursions and are kept away from local communities under controlled
conditions. This is the case in the Lakshadweep islands where Bangaram, an uninhabited
island was selected for tourism development. However, in many conventional tourist
destinationswhich do not fall under the 'Bangaram' category, the physical environment is not
very protected. Some of the manifestations of visitor impact on such places are given below:

Leftovers of eatables - This includes paperpacks, polythene packs, actual eating stuff,
bottles, leaflets. This problem has assumed a universal dimension. Visitors carry along
with them eatables, the leftovers of which, are strewn behind without caring. Thus on a
Goan beach, one may h d bottles, packs thrown all over the place. Some of these leftovers
are bio-degradable while others are either non bio-degradablelike plastics or take avery
long time to disintegrate. This destroys the physical beauty of the landscape.
-
Dumping garbage, other than eatables This is one of the less noticed but a very common
problem with thevisitors. Also the visitor is relatively ignorant about the damage his act
may bring to the physical surroundings. A very clear example may be the temple town
of Puri or Tirupathi. Here the pilgrims dispose many religious items. out of their religious
attachments.Thus not onlyland but nearby water bodies where such items are immersed,
are polluted.
-
Historical Sites These are also affected by an indifferent visitor behaviour in a variety
of ways. One problem is that posed by a special class of visitors; those connected with a
,6lm shooting company. It has often been found that film shootings leave behind deep
scars that mar the grandeur of the historical monuments. This problem is, however,
applicable to other sites also like a forest, an island, a beach etc. Another almost.universal
threat posed to the historical monuments is the tendency of the visitors to record their
visits by scribbling their names. Recording of visits at times manifests itself in other ways
too, for example taking back a marble piece, a stone piece, or any other 'loose particles'
from the historical monuments.
Wildlife and Vegetation Sites - These sites have their own problems. Thus disturbing or
provoking animals in a zoo or in a reserve is a common phenomenon. In addition,
connivance with the local people to hunt animals, despitethe governmentalban is a major
threat. Also plucking branches, making marks on the trunks of the trees has its own set
of problems.
-
blands and Beaches We have visitors who can unknowingly threaten the local
environment.Thus excessive swimming, scuba diving not only pollutes the water but also
affects the marine habitat. In addition nabbing corals which is particularly true of
Lakshadvcep Islands or taking back sea- shells, pebbles etc. from beaches by the visitors
affects the physical environment.

This is just a brief survey of many ways in which the physical environment of a site is affected
by the visitors. Let us now examine, how the socio-cultural environment of a place is affected.
 25.42 Socio-culturalEnvironment and Visitor Behaviour
If tourism is seen in a broader context, it i q intermingling of diierent cultures. Little do visitors
realise that they are representing a different culture, lifestyle, social values. Thus there is a
cultural interaction whereby the meeting cultures (especially true of international visitors)
exercise mutual influence on each other. This process of mutual acculturation is, however,
slightlylopsided. While the natives develop alien habits, the foreigners because of their short
stay do not do so. This is manifested in many different ways:

a Inculcating Spendthrifty Habits among the residents or tourists generally come from
more affluent communities who while on holiday jue inclined to spend far more than
their normal pattern of life would permit. This has many indirect consequences for when
the local residents run sbort of money, they resort to other activities which at times, are
illegal.
r a Nudity and alcoholism- are other problems which somevisitors wry. This is particularly
true of places iike Goti and Kovalam. Such things may be in a way or other acceptable to
the foreignersbut here in India, they have the inherent danger of rupturing the traditional
social fabric.
a Attire and Food - as far as the dressing and food habits are concerned, there is a marked
difference between the foreigners and the natives, especially if you have in the
background, a village or a suburban area. This at times makes natives resentful, or
uncooperative.
. a Religion - while admitting the fact that there is difference between the religious beliefs
and practices of the visitors and the residents, this becomes a problem when the visitors
try to either superimpose or interfere with native religious beliefs. This may create a
problem even when the intention is not impure and may be just for the sake of curiosity,
or obtaining knowledge.
a Ethnidty - sometimes out of the zeal to know about races, ethnicity, the visitors
consciously or unconsciouslyinterfere with the customs of certaiu secluded communities
like the tribals. This is resented and at times repulsed by the tribals. Recently there have
been cases of tribdb attackmg visitors in Andaman Islands. Likewise tribal rituals,
ceremonies, primitive art, home life and public and private spheres of activity arc
effectivelytransformed by the tourist money and world-view. For example the monastry
festivals in Ladakh are no longer held in winter, the off season of tourism. Because of
commercialization, they are now held in summer when the tourists come. Tourist influx
, in the interior rural or tribal areas may cause other complications; the visitors tend to
turn the local residents into objects, photographmg people, their homes, their lifestyle,
touching them to see if they are real, making a bid for clothes and ornaments that local
people wear, recording their music and decoding their culture. Consequently, the local
people get divided on the entry of tourists. Those who are employed by the travel trade
encourage the penetration of tourism into the most private sphere, but others become
I' resentful of the transformation of their cultures.
a Drug Abuse, Prostitutionand Child Abuse - drug trafficking and child-abuse,which are
becoming current at some of the tourist destinations represent the ugly face of some
visitors. This also points to the subversion of the spirit of tourism to personal gains.

Likewise, there are many issues in the process of cultural interaction like language,
communication, talking habits, subjects of discussion, which, if not handled properly may
produce undesirable results. While discussing the impact of tourists on the socialenvironment
of a placehite the guest-host relationship becomes an essential aspect. In a guest-host
relationship, there can be certain situations that emerge at various stages or lead to another
situation. And these could be from the point of view of either, the guest or the host. The
diverse situations from the hosts point of view could be:

a) welcome all with smiles,

b) be cool or aloof,
I
c) extort money or cheat,
d) be very friendly.
I
If tourism is not laid out within the parameters of a healthy local environment, one situation
can lead to another or vice- versa.
+
 Smiles -- Coolness -- Extortions -- Hostility
or
Hostility -- friendship etc. (Also see Unit 3, Block 1of TS-2)

25.43 Visitor Behaviour and Economic ~n6ronment

Visitors also have a lasting impact on the economic environment of a place. When tourism is
integrated with the domestic economy, it does benefit local and national economies. The
host-guest relationship will depend upon how great the benefit of tourism is to the local
people. Moreover, where economic disparities exist between tourists and local people, local
resistance to tourism is based on hostility to certain tourist practices like bride buying in
Hyderabad. At times tourism develops neo-colonial aspects,where profits fromtourism flow
out of the country because of foreign control. In some cases, privatization has helped to
reduce local control, but in India the private and the state sectors are increasingly coming
under foreign control. Apart from the cultural implications of b g e scale tourism,
neo-colonial control brings in objectives that are cutward looking, denying opportunities to
local experts and local priorities. Acts of terrorism and provocation against tourists, or a
physical threat to their security can result from such patterns of tourism development.
Further, the arts and crafts or the souvenir trade, while it enlarges the market for such
produce, either does not benefit the producer or it trivialises native art by malung it into a
"takeaway".Besides, some other general economic impacts of tourism are as follows:
Tourism is at times, and at places, developed over the heads of local people and often at
the cost of traditional economic activity like agriculture, fishing, toddy tapping etc.
Where a monopoly of towism exists, the economic impact of seasonality is often severe
and leads to seasonal unemployment. Tourism is thus often described as the "feast or
famine" industry. The impact of tourism is especially very seasonal on the handicraft
persons and if tourism is interrupted for any reason, they are completely ruined as can
be seen in Kashmrr.

Hasty buying and overspendinghas led to commercializationof handicrafts. Thus many craft
villages, which were once hunting grounds for many people have now become very expensive
and beyond the reach of the common man. This in turn leads to degradation in the quality of
the handicrafts (as forged items also make their way) and breakdown of human values. In
such a scenario, small and poor crdtsmen are the worst sufferers. All such things also lead
to artificial inflation in such places. Thus the vicious cycle continues.
Lopsided economic development of a tourist destination also results from visitors' buying
spree. Thus only such kind of goods begin to be produced which have a demand among the
visitors. This at times leads to shortage and scarcity of basic and consumer goods or inflation
in their prices.

I
nCheck Your Progress-1

1) List the ways in which visitors make an impact on the physical environment of a site.

..................................................

2) What are some of the major forms of adverse visitor behaviour that affect the
socio-cultural environment of a tourist site ?
..................................................
..................................................

3) Discuss three main aspects of visitor behaviour and the economicenvironment of a place.
This section deals with some measures to cope with the situation. This becomes more
imperative in view of h e ever-expandingtourist tr&c both within and without the country.
For the sake of arranging our discussion in some order, we break this into two dub-sections.

a role of visitors
a role of other authorities

25.5.1 Role of Visitors

Just as the visitors have the right to get complete enjoyment out of their trips, they have
certain duties towards the environment of the place co,lcerned:
l

a Visitors should be more caroful about disposing off their leftovers. This includes eatables,
garbage,bottles, etc. Thispncompasses all the places they visit. This W not orly maintain
the physical beauty of the place but will be equally enchanting for them, if they visit the
pl3~eagain.
a Visitors should also be cautious about the culture, and social traditions of the places they
visit. They should not try to interfere with the local customs and traditions. At the same
time, they should try to learn the language, social ethos of the places they visit, and try to
develop friendly links with the people rather than loading upon them as objects of
entertainment.
a Visitors should help others which include both the rrisitors themselves and the local
residents to maintain the sanctity of the so~io-economicenvironment of the place, and
advise and educate them in case of any derelictions or neglects on their part.
a Above all, visitors should develop a broad attitude towards tourism and should ccnsider
themselves as active participants in the preservation of the planet as a whole. Such a
global and humane ~utlookwould serve a fruitful purpose.

25.5.2 Role of Other Authorities

I
The state or the authorities concerned with the maintenance and development of tourist
destinations should also take certain steps.
a It is now an accepted concept that tourism planning should not be treated as sui-geneis
but as an integral part of overall physical and economic planning. This should be applied
in practice.
e Profiling of tourists both foreign and domestic could play a very effective role in tourism
planning and development. (See Units 1& 2, Block 1of TS-2).
a Control of the number of tourists is also very important for encouraging a healthy
guest-host relationship. For example, Bhutan does not allow more than a fixed number
of tourists per year, because the Bhutanese feel that a large number of tourists will be a
physical as well as a social burden.
m Laws regarding preservation of the environment of tourist sites should be implemented
in letter and spirit. Attempts should be made to plug a lacunaein the existing regulations.

a Eco-tourism and sustainable or controlled tourism should be the motto of the authorities.
Efforts should be made to restrictlcontrolthe number of tourists visiting particular tourist
places at any given point of time. This is not restricting tourism but just an alternative
approach.
a Efforts should be made through the medium of entertainment - video and audio
cassettes, persons of the tourist department - to inculcate an awareness among the
visitors, and educating them about the need to preserve environment.
a . Involving private sector participation can also go a longway in promoting a safe tourism.

It is through the various agencies acting in tandem with each other as well as with the.visitors
that the goal of environmental friendly tourism can be achieved. The motto should be, as
someone has rightly said "To see India, is to love India".
 nCheck Your Progress-2

1) Describe the role of visitors in checking the environmental imbalance of a tourist site.
..................................................
..................................................

2) In what ways can authorities regulate the visitor behaviour for checking the
environmental abuse.

...................................................
.................................................. I

"

25.6 LET US SUM UP 1

A study of visitor behaviour is imperative in view of the threat to the environment posed by
the visitors. India with a varied ~hvsicaland cultural landsca~elays host to a large number
of tourists. This figure is increasb dayby day. The visitors, b i thkir behaviour, the; conduct,
affect the environmentof the tourist sitesinmore than one wav. This ruins not onlv the ~hvsical
landscape but also ruptures the socio-cultural fabric. Thus ;he problem needs to betajded
effectively.For this, both the visitors and the tourism authoritieshave to contribute.

25.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES

nCheck Your Progress-1

1) See Sub-sec. 25.4.1.

2) See Sub-sec. 25.4.2.

3) See Sub-sec. 25.4.3.

1) See Sub-sec. 25.5.1.

2) See Sub-sec. 25.5.2.

SOME USEFUL BOOKS FOR THIS BLOCK 9 I

1
Vandana Shiva - The Violence of the Green Revolution. i
R. Carson The Sea Around Us, Oxford University Press,
1
New York, 1951.
R.Mash The Rights of Nature,University of
Wislonsin Press, Madison, 1989.
Wernes Wolfgang (ed.) Aspects of Ecological Roblems and
-Environmental.Awareness
. . - ....
in sourn ASU,
New Delhj 1993.