Impacts of tourism development on the physical environment of Mussoorie,a hill station in the lower Himalayan range of India

Tourism in mountainous regions is a significant source of revenue generation. However, it has also been associated with many adverse environmental consequences. This study aims at assessing the negative impacts of the incessant upsurge in tourism development on the physical environment of Mussoorie, a well-known mountain tourist destination in India. The impact indicators for the region were identified and assessed by qualitative and quantitative analysis of field observations. The observations indicated the aggravation of traffic congestion, atmospheric pollution, undisposed solid waste, water scarcity and infrastructure unavailability as the prevalent issues, especially during the peak tourist months. The extent of the consequential damage to the environment was evaluated by conducting an assessment of tourism-induced human disturbance on the natural landscape of the town. Slope, slope aspect, vegetation cover, road network and drainage network were incorporated as thedetermining landscape attributes to prepare thematic maps of landscape quality(perceivable intrinsic properties) and landscape fragility(vulnerability to anthropogenic disturbances) using GIS technique. An absorption capacity map was finally prepared to characterize the study area into regions of different conservation needs. The results identified the need for planning appropriate preservation strategies for different tourist places in the town. The study can be used by the policy makers for implementing the regulatory measures against potential disturbances due to mass-tourism.

Community Responses to Mountain Tourism:A Case in Bhyundar Valley,Indian Himalaya

Tourism industry has become an important part of Indian economy,and tourism development has been,however,concentrated to a few areas. Accumulation of tourism activities has reached the critical stage in most of the tourism centers,which pose serious threats to the natural environment. The Bhyundar Valley of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR) in Uttarakhand State of the Indian Himalaya is a burning example of such problems. Land use/cover changes,deforestation and accumulation of garbage are some of the negative impacts of unregulated tourism in the valley. Unsustainable activities of tourists and villagers in the valley make such problems very severe. To deal with the ongoing problems and ensure community involvement in tourism management and environmental conservation,the Biosphere Reserve Authority introduced ecotourism in the form of Eco Development Committees (EDCs) in the Bhyundar Valley. Study reveals that many problems associated with tourism have been minimized to some extent with the help of EDCs but few are still prevailing in valley. However,the existing attempts to conserve the valley from the negative effects of tourism are inadequate and modifications are needed in the current initiatives.

Adaptation Management of Mountain Tourism Service: The Case of the Source Regions of the Yangtze and Yellow River

Mountain areas are often rich in ecological diversity and recreational opportunities. Mountain tourism is thought to be an effective and important means for maintaining and expanding rural economies and, thus, improving the living conditions of rural societies. As mountain tourism service research is a professional field with several disciplines involved, a multi-disciplinary management pIatform is needed and it facilitates participation in sustainable mountain development by diverse stakeholders. With the source regions of the Yangtze and the Yellow River as a case study, this paper presents a conceptual framework for an adaptation management of mountain tourism services according to technical, policy, social and economic dimensions. The framework is based on a vulnerability assessment of mountain ecosystems, and can serve as a reference for the development of tourism service in other mountain areas.

Adaptation models of mountain glacier tourism to climate change: a case study of Mt. Yulong Snow scenic area

Mountain glaciers have an obvious location advantage and tourist market condition over polar and high latitude glaciers. Due to the enormous economic benefit and heritage value, some mountain glaciers will always receive higher attention from commercial media, government departments and mountain tourists in China and abroad. At present, more than 100 glaciers have been devel- oped successfully as famous tourist destinations all over the world. However, global climate change seriously affects mountain glaciers and its surrounding environment. According to the current accelerated retreat trend, natural and cultural landscapes of some glaciers will be weakened, even disappear in the future. Climate change will also inevitably affect mountain ecosystems, and tourism routes under ice and glacier experience activities in these ecosystems. Simultaneously, the disappearance of mountain glaciers will also lead to a clear reduction of tourism and local economic benefits. Based on these reasons, this paper took Mr. Yulong Snow scenic area as an example and analyzed the retreat trend of a typical glacier. We then put forward some scientific and rational response mechanisms and adaptation models based on climate change in order to help future sustainable development of mountain glacier tourism.

Distance decay of place attachment and perceived authenticity of mountain tourism destinations in China

Place attachment has been a research focus in the fields of park and recreation management.Place attachment plays an important role in promoting sustainable development of parks and mountain tourism destination,however,there are limited studies that identified the spatial patterns of place attachment,especially in the context of mountain tourism destinations in China.Also,the geospatial spectrum of visitors is usually broad,examining the multivariate relationships among spatial proximity,perceived authenticity,and place attachment are essential for mountain tourism destinations to promote destination image and strengthen emotional bonding with targeted visitor groups.In this study,we selected an iconic and highly visited park,Jiuzhai Valley National Park in China,as our study site and conducted an on-site visitor survey to collect 557 samples.Study uses factor analysis and the structure equation model to analyze the relationship among spatial proximity,perceived authenticity,and place attachment.Results validate the two-dimension structure of place attachment and perceived authenticity.Study findings suggest that spatial proximity has significant impacts on existential authenticity and place identity,but has no significant impacts on place dependence.Perceived authenticity has a positive impact on place attachment.Study results advance the theories of place attachment and provide effective strategies to enhance emotional attachment between visitors and mountain tourism destinations.

Development of Mountain Tourism in Central Yunnan in the Context of Rural Revitalization Strategy

This paper analyzes the necessity of mountain tourism development in central Yunnan from the aspects of market demand,rural industrial structure optimization demand,characteristic minority culture protection demand,ecological environment protection demand,beautiful rural construction demand and so on.On this basis,against the backdrop of rural revitalization strategy,the path of mountain tourism development in central Yunnan is analyzed.

Effectiveness of Informatization Teaching Design:A Cause Study on Mountain Tourism Resources

With the rapid development of network technology,education informatization has become an inevitable trend in education reform and development.An important aspect of information teaching is the effective integration of information technology and course teaching.On the basis of fully understanding and considering the learning needs of students,we should clarify the teaching goals of mountain tourism resources,integrate relevant teaching content,select appropriate information teaching strategies and methods,and achieve the optimization of teaching effects,so that students can really effectively play the role of the main body in teaching.In the teaching process of mountain tourism resources,the use of information-based teaching methods is not the more the better,but an effective combination of corresponding information teaching methods should be explored instead,such as learning the formation of Mount Tai through 3D animation,learning the lithology of Mount Tai through VR,etc.,so that not only can students learn easily and efficiently,but the workload of teachers can be reduced as well.

Ecological Protection Design Strategy for Mountain Tourism Highway Slopes

Slope ecological protection technology is a form of slope protection with high ornamental and good economic value.At present,it is widely used in highways and urban streets’slope protection works.However,its use is not very common in mountain tourism highways;hence,it is necessary to implement strategies for mountain tourism highway slope ecological protection design to promote excellent development.

A Study on Tourist Interaction in Mountain-type Scenic Spots

Mountain tourism is one of the traditional and important forms of tourism in China. In mountain tourism,the interaction between tourists often occurs,and is paid attention to in tourism sociology. In the field of tourism research,it involves a large number of host-guest interaction studies in tourism destinations,but there is little research on the interaction between tourists. Therefore,in the study of mountaintype scenic spots,we can also study the tourist interaction from the perspective of tourist experience and symbolic interaction theory.