JETIR Research Journal

ECOTOURISM PLANNING FOR THE GREENFIELD LAND – A CASE STUDY OF SAPUTARA

1Yadav Krunal, 2Prof. Jagruti Shah, 3Ar. Jamish Lathiya 1 PG Scholar, Infrastructure Engineering and Technology, B.V.M Engineering College, V. V. Nagar, Gujarat, India. 2Asst.Prof, Structural Engineering Department, B.V.M Engineering College, V.V.Nagar, Gujarat, India. 3Assistant Professor, S.M.A.I.D, New Vallabh Vidhyanagar, Gujarat, India.

Abstract : Tourism at hill station plays very important role in the industry of tourism development. The famous hill stations of India are Leh-Ladakh, Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Lavasa, Mahabaleshwar, Coorge, Dalhousie which are very well developed hill stations. In this paper the study on Saputara hill station is selected. Saputara is the only hill station of Gujarat with the beautiful & scenic natural beauty. When tourist visit any of the hill station they need facilities like food, hotels, tourism infrastructure and more services for their leisure. It contributes directly or indirectly in the overall growth of GDP of the state and the nation. Also contributes in the overall growth and development of the local – tribal people. But Saputara is not as much as developed in compared to other hill station. Saputara need to be developed as eco-tourism place. This paper contains the problems which Saputara is facing. This paper is concluded with suggestion an eco-tourism development suggestion of Saputara.

Keywords: Tourism, Eco-tourism, Tourism industry, Hill tourism, Contribution to employment.

I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Tourism Industry Today, in world tourism industry is the largest and fastest growing industry. According to world travel & tourism council, tourism means travel for recreational, fun, leisure, family or business purpose for limited duration. The concept of tourism & travel in Gujarat started a years ago, when Portuguese entered from the gateway of India (Surat, Gujarat) for the purpose of trade in India. Ecotourism is now defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people”. It also involves interest of ecotourism and education of the local people. This type of tourism is low impact, educational, and conserves the environment which directly benefits the economic development of local community. India is at 3rd position amongst countries with fastest growing tourism industry in coming decades. According to “The world travel & tourism council” in the year 2015, tourism generates 6.4 trillion or 6.6 % of the nation’s GDP[4].

1.2 Saputara Saputara the only hill station of Gujarat with all its natural beauties, natural sceneries, landscapes that attracts the tourist. Saputara hills are situated at 20°34’47’N 73°44’48’E. Saputara located in dang district of Gujarat in western ghats of sahayadri range. The area nearby it is fully covered by dense forest. Saputara have very big plain plateau that is the strength of this hill station. This tranquil small town have an altitude of 1000 meter above sea level having climate that is consistently pleasant throughout year. The name Saputara literally means “adobe of serpents” a fact that is highlighted by the presence of an image of a snake on the shores of the Sarpagana river, which flows through the town. The tourist from state are attracted towards this place mostly in winter & monsoon season. Saputara has been developed as a planned hill resort with amenities like hotels, parks, swimming pools, boat club, theaters, ropeways and a museum. The temperature in summer goes up to a maximum of 32°C and a minimum of 20°C. In winter, on the other hand the temperature remains between 16°C and 10°C. The local people are not as much aware of the ecotourism as we find anywhere food stalls are placed which creates pollution on this hill. The tourist can’t find proper entertainment activities like tourism activities on this plateau. Saputara is facing much problems in tourism infrastructure, no eco-friendly cottages are available on this plateau. As Saputara is located on the Nashik-Surat state highway, which is very busy with multiaxial vehicles which creates traffic congestion for tourist as well as for local people. As per GITCO, the total number of tourist who visited to Saputara was 5.4 lac in the year 2016-17.

II. OBJECTIVES OF STUDY  To study existing problems and situations at Saputara.  To find out various possibilities for tourism activities.  To give suggestion and ecotourism development of Saputara.

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III. NEED FOR THE STUDY Saputara is the only hill station of Gujarat, but is not very well developed from the point of view to tourism infrastructure. The haphazard development of hotels and other facilities is done which creates various problems for the tourist when they visit this place. The lack of tourist activities which bores the tourist, and hence tourist here visit only for one day or for overnight stay. The flow of tourist is maximum during peak season, which is not maintained by the Saputara notified area. Saputara need to be redevelop or any other place nearby Saputara which is likely to same as Saputara is to be develop, to divert tourist and to get economy for tribal people.

IV. ABOUT SAPUTARA 4.1 Location of Saputara

Saputara is located in the Dang district of South Gujarat. Dang district is tribal district of Gujarat which is densely covered with bamboo tree forest as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1 Location of Saputara

4.2 Places to Visit at Saputara  Nageshwar mahadev temple  Saputara tribal museum  Eco point

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 Rose gardens  Governor’s Hill  Sunrise Point  Sunset Point  Town view point  Lake Garden

Figure 2 Tourist Map of Saputara

Till today, the tourist visit Saputara for the entertainment and just for relaxation. But there is no eco-friendly cottage or any other type of development done on this plateau.

4.3 Tourism Activities at Saputara Population Saputara Notified Area having population 2968 (as per census 2011) is the Dangs only notified area as shown in table 1, located in the sub-district of dangs in Gujarat. The total geographical area of Saputara Notified Area is 4 km2. The population density of city is 712 person per km2. Table 1 Demographic Detail of Saputara[3]

District Dang

Area 4 km2

Population 2968

Growth of Population 47.3%

Population Density 712/km2

Sex Ratio 1879

Literacy rate 87%

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Source: As per Census of India-2011, Saputara Notified Area.

4.4 Connectivity Considering open transport, state runs GSRTC goes straight upto Hills. Dang is well-connected with the roads of Maharashtra and Gujarat. GSRTC bus name Surat to Nashik (via.Bardoli-Vyara-Ahwa-Saputara-Nashik) as shown in figure 3 and Surat to Shirdi (via. Bardoli-Valod-Waghai-Saputara-Nashik) also runs on this route. The nearest Airport is in Surat which is also connected with the International Airport, located at 140 km. The railway lines with Narrow gauge connects waghai to navsari. The natural scenery is enjoyable in the rail route.

Figure 3 Road Route from Surat to Saputara Source: google map

4.5 Tourist Arrivals at Saputara Let us look at the trend of Tourist Arrival in Saputara. The feedback from the existing operators is that Saputara is only serving as a Weekend Destination; and that it has a great potential to be developed as a MICE destination, which is not fully explored yet. In monsoon festivals 2015, most of tourist spent overnight at Saputara enjoying different events arranged at Saputara as shown in chart 1. This data is collected by primary survey information from the hotels of Saputara.

342676 318809 350000 301711 300000 277780 250000 221287 200615 200000 163077 148612 150000 104721

100000 77298 No. of Tourist of No. 50000 600 31 223 418 735 0 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Year NRI from Abroad Other Indian States Within Gujarat

Chart 1 Tourist Flow at Saputara Source: GITCO

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V. EXISTING PROBLEMS AT SAPUTARA Although number of tourist increases day by day, tourist are not satisfied with this place. Due to lack of tourism activity, tourist simply visit this hill throughout day or will stay overnight. The flow of the tourist is only in monsoon and in winter i.e. hardly 4 to 6 months. The following problems are identified on this plateau:  Lack of tourist activities  Deforestation  Haphazard development of hotels  No eco-friendly cottages are provided  No provision of public toilet blocks  Poor management of traffic during its seasonal time  No parking space is provided for visitors.  Shortage of skilled manpower in hotels  Site scenes are not much developed  Not proper management of adventure tourism facility  Improper management of hospitality and hotels  Traffic at the table point & road to reach there is hilly.

VI. SWOT ANALYSIS OF SAPUTARA AS TOURIST DESTINATION

WEAKNESS STRENGTH • Lack of tourist activity • Location on Surat - Nashik road. • Haphazard growth of hotels. • One & Only Hill station of Gujarat. • No awareness for needs of Eco and Nature • Beautiful Valley view, Sunrise and tourism among people and Government Sunsets. agency.

• Improper parking management. • Lack of conservation management of tourist spots.

SWOT ANALYSIS

OPPORTUNITY THREAT • The tribal culture has lots to offer to the • If the local population is not gainfully tourists, which can be further developed. employed in Tourism related activities, it can turn hostile to Tourism related • Huge Potential for Eco – tourism. • Vast opportunities for nature and adventure activities. • Lack of quality Education (Only one tourism such as – Tracking, Camping. • Relatively large rural population offers primary school in the village). opportunities for participation in tourism. • Cleanliness and Sanitation challenges • Second homes/Holiday at Saputara Hill. to Environment. • Life styles of local people, Local products • Over Conservation of forest area. can promote village development. • Lack of environmental awareness of • Generate Economy at local as well as state local people and tourist.

level.

VII. SUGGESTIONS The above problem restricts the sustainable and ecotourism development of the Saputara hill. There is need to have a proper strategies for the development of the Saputara as ecotourism place. Some of the suggestions are listed below for the development of Saputara hill to overcome these problems in the study area.

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 As to develop Saputara as Ecotourism place the deforestation should be stopped.  There should be provisions of the eco-friendly cottages in replacement of the concrete hotels.  Specific area should be provided for the parking i.e. pay and use parking should be developed.  Public toilets blocks should be constructed and should be maintained regularly.  If forest is protected automatically habitats of wildlife, birds will also be protected.  For the hotels, rain water harvesting should be mandatory as there is heavy rainfall in this area.  The e-Rickshaw should be use to reach the table point which is having very steep slope and it also reduces the traffic congestion at the table point.  Restriction to the entry of private vehicle at able point. Only government authorised e-Rickshaw should be used on minimum wages.  The safe guards, benches at the site scenes should be developed by some of the charitable trust or NGO.  The parking facility and public toilets block facility should be awarded to some private firm so that it can be maintained regularly.  The environment should be conserve while developing the hill station. If all the above suggestions are taken into consideration then there will be chance to develop Saputara hill as a ecotourism place. Tourist will not only visit this plateau but will find a way to stay 3-4 days on this place. They will be attracted by the facilities tourism infrastructure provided here which will help them to stay here for more time.

VIII. CONCLUSION In Gujarat, Saputara is the only hill station so the tourist around Gujarat are attracted towards it. As well as tourist from India and across globe are attracted to this place as this place is having beautiful natural scenery. The tourist flow during peak season i.e. during Monsoon season is maximum. There is lot more impact tourist on Saputara, the suggestion or ecotourism plan can help Saputara to build more in future which helps in increasing the facilities of tourism infrastructure at Saputara. REFERENCES 1) Alaknanda K. Madhani (2016), A review on economic impact of globalization on gujarat tourism. 2) Aneja Puneet (2005), Tourism Growth in India. 3) Census India, population, 2011. 4) Dr. Ravi Kant Bhatnagar (2015), India tourism statistics, 2015. 5) Dr. Manish Patel (2013), Economics of Ecotourism: A case study of dang. 6) Dr. V. Basil hans (2008), India’s tourism industry – progress and emerging issues. 7) Khushboo Patel, Pinki Mishra, Alap Patel (2015), District human development report: the dangs. 8) Pawan Kumar Shukla (2013), Tourism and resource development: A case study of Gujarat.

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