Environmental Issues and Challenges of Tourism Inkodagu District, Karnatak, India

Abstract

The present research paper studies the challenges in the tourism sector and also the harmful impact of tourism on the environment in Kodagu district, Karnataka, India. Quantitative data were collected from 118 local respondents district belonging to the three taluks of Kodagu using questionnaire, following the stratified random sampling technique. The data was subjected to statistical analysis using the SPSS statistical package version 24 and meaningful inferences were drawn. The descriptive analysis of the study variables in terms of the mean and standard deviation were computed. Along with this, the objectives of the study were met using correlation and regression analysis. The results showed that there was a lack of awareness among the local population regarding the environmental issues. Tourism and improper practices of tourists had created the most adverse effect on the environment. In addition, poor and improper maintenance of historic sites and monuments was determined to be the major challenge in the tourism sector. Further, the challenges and adverse impacts on the environment significantly affected the economic development of the region. Therefore, it is recommended that suitable measures such as increasing the information centres and conducting awareness programmes to local population can be done to over the problems.