A Natural Resource and Cultural Heritage
in India
Dr. habil. Zoltán WILHELMUniversity of Pécs
Institute of GeographyDepartment of General and Applied
Environmental Geography
Objects and Methods
• An integrated systemtourism attraction,
natural resource,
cultural heritage,
social space,
sustainable.
Objects and Methods
• Field studies
• Field trips
• Interviews
• Data analysis
• Literature review
• Case studies
Blue = 1997Green = 2000Orange = 2003Red = January
- February and July to September 2007
Black dotted = 2009 and 2010
Total number of foreign visitors in selected countries between 1998 and 2008
Source: http://www.atkearney.com/shared_res/pdf/Tourism_data_2005_S.pdf (last access: October 13, 2008) and http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_tou_arr-economy-tourist-arrivals&int=-1 (last access: May 16, 2011)
0
10000000
20000000
30000000
40000000
50000000
60000000
70000000
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008
Austria
Bangladesh
Brazil
China
Croatia
Denmark
INDIA
Hungary
Pakistan
Italy
USA
Selected tourism related statistical data of India and other selected countries (2008)
1 Without French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion. Source: CIA World Factbook 2008 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html (2008. 09. 13.)Compendium of Tourism Statistics http://www.atkearney.com/shared_res/pdf/Tourism_data_2005_S.pdf (2008.09.13.)
Percentage of international visitors according to their countries of origin in 2004
Source: Khullar, D. R. 2006: India – A Comprehensive Geography. Kalyani, New Delhi, p. 860.
East Asia5%
Southeast Asia6%
South Asia26%
North America19%
West Asia4%
Eastern Europe
2%
Western Europe
30%
Australia3%
Africa4%
Central/South America
1%
The tourism in India• India has less than 0.5 percent of the total
number of visitors worldwide.• There are 28 sites in India that is listed in
UNESCO’s World Heritage list; 15 more sites are expected to join this list in the very near future
• The extremely high economical development of the country also generated a significant business and conference tourism.
• The Indian version of health tourism has also dramatically increased over the recent years. For instance a bypass surgery costs a mere £500 in India, while patients pay ten times more for the same surgery in the UK. While hip replacement costs £6600 in the UK, the same surgery is completed for only £860 in India.
The tourism in India• Today, about 20.5 million people are
employed in tourism and tourism associated industry in India; this number equals 5.6 per cent of all employees nationwide.
• By 2015, an estimated 25 million directly and 40 million indirectly employed people will work in tourism.
• Each 1 million rupees invested in the tourism creates 89 new employment opportunities; this number totals only 44.7 in the agriculture and only 12.6 in general industry.
Temporal trends of economic growth in India (%)
Source: Panagariya, A. (2008): India – The Emerging Giant. Oxford University Press, New York, p. 5.
Functional location of natural resources in the socio-economic (geographical) space
Edited by Wilhelm, Z.
Seasonal Rainfall in
India – January-February
(mm)
Seasonal Rainfall in
India – March-May
(mm)
Seasonal Rainfall in
India – June-
September (mm)
Seasonal Rainfall in
India – October-
December (mm)
Walter-Lieth climate
diagram of Jaipur (seat
of Rajasthan)
Output on irrigated and unirrigated farmland in India (Source: Briscoe, J. –
Malik, R. P. S. 2006)
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
Ru
pe
es
pe
r h
ec
tare Irrigated Unirrigated
Average number of days of employment for adult casual laborers each month
(Source: Chambers, R. 1988)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Day
s o
f em
plo
ymen
t
Irrigated
Unirrigated
Administrative
map of India
Stepwells (vav/vavdi/baoli/bavadi) • Pre-Solanki period (8th to 11th century A.D.);
Solanki period (11th to 12th century); Vaghela period (mid-13th to end-14th century); and the Sultanate period (mid-13th to end-15th century);
• were built by noblemen;
• non-religious edifices;
• Examples: Rani-ki vav, Adalaj vav, Dada Hari vav and baolis at Mandu
Thank you for your kind attention!