Tourism Planning

CONTENTS

PA G E N O .

INTRODUCTION

1

S U S TA I N A B L E TO U R I S M

2-4

E C O TO U R I S M

5-6

S I K K I M – S TAT E P R O F I L E GANGTOK – CITY PROFILE

E X I S T I N G M A P A N A LY S I S

7-10 11 - 1 8

19

CASE STUDIES

20-40

S W O T A N A LY S I S O F T H E C I T Y S T U D Y

41-49

C O N C E P T, V I S I O N , S T R AT E G I E S A N D P R O P O S A L S

50-70

R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S

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IMAGE OF THE CITY

72-74

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

2

GLOBAL TOURISM

3

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

4

ECOTOURISM - SIKKIM

5

ECOLOGICAL TOURISM

6

SIKKIM STATE - TOURISM

7

STRENGHTS & CHALLENGES

8

SIKKIM STATE - OVERVIEW

9

SIKKIM STATE - OVERVIEW

10

Gangtok City

Tourism and Planning

GANGTOK CITY - OVERVIEW

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GANGTOK CITY - OVERVIEW

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CITY PROFILE-INTRODUCTION

13

CITY PROFILE - DEMOGRAPHY

14

CITY PROFILE - ECONOMY

15

MAP SHOWING WARDS OF GANGTOK M.C. AREA

WARD DISTRIBUTUION

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MAP SHOWING GANGTOK CITY PLANNING AREA

Map showing growth of Gangtok M.C. area over the years 1987-2017

PLANNING AREA ZONES

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MAP SHOWING GANGTOK CITY PLANNING AREA

Maps showing existing and future direction potential and expansion of Gangtok M.C. area

PLANNING AREA ZONES

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ANALYSIS OF EXISTING DEVELOPED AREA (GMC)

ANALYSIS OF PLANNING AREA

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CASE STUDIES

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Sikkim – Taking Indian tourism to another level • To save the beautiful environment of the northeast, sustainable tourism and eco-friendly measures have been devised by Directorate of Ecotourism in association with Forest Department of Sikkim. In this region, promotion of wildlife and nature has remained a prime focus.

• Going Wild is another responsible organization in the northeast working towards the development of ecotourism by promoting several wildlife and birding tours.

• Attractions for eco-travellers in Sikkim: Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary, and Khangchendzonga National Park.

Covering an approximate area of 1784 square kilometres and ranging from an altitude of about 1800 meters to 8500 meters. The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserves or National Parkis one of the high-altitude national parks in India and the only national park in Sikkim. The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve also offers lot of adventure activities like trekking, hiking and camping. which makes it easier for the travellers to explore the rich biodiversity. The Green Lake Trek and Dzongri Goechala Trek are some of the best alpine treks in Sikkim that passes through the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve.

LITERATURE CASE STUDIES

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Steps to make Ecotourism Sustainable There is a need to ensure that our ecotourism activities are undertaken in a sustainable manner.

Ecotourism can be sustainable only if it is well planned and runs on a set of guiding principles.

Incorporating environmental knowledge into planning contributes significantly to sustainable tourism planning. The procedure starts with: • Site Selection • Site Evaluation • Developing Alternatives • Appropriate Implementation

GLOBAL CASE SCENARIO

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Read and Collect information Avoid plastic Follow the “Leave Only Footprints Approach” Stay on the trail when you go on treks within the wild Don’t encourage ill practices Avoid smoking Learn to be ethical in the forests Get involved with organisations who promote ecotourism in India

Steps to become an Eco-Tourist

Make Donations

1) KERALA

2) KARNATAKA

3) SIKKIM

4) ASSAM

5) LADAKH

6) HIMACHAL PRADESH

10 states that are encouraging ecotourism in India

7) MEGHALAYA

9) UTTARAKHAND

8) ARUNACHAL PRADESH

10) DELHI

STEPS TO BECOME AN ECO-TOURIST

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LITERATURE CASE STUDIES

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LITERATURE CASE STUDIES

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LITERATURE CASE STUDIES

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LITERATURE CASE STUDIES

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LITERATURE CASE STUDIES

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LITERATURE CASE STUDIES

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LITERATURE CASE STUDIES

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GLOBAL CASE SCENARIO

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CASE STUDY - 1

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CASE STUDY - 1

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CASE STUDY - 1

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CASE STUDY - 1

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CASE STUDY - 1

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CASE STUDY - 1

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Project : Urban Park in a Degraded Landscape Location : Palaj Village, Gandhinagar

Brief : The project attempts to look at what is the potential a degraded landscape offers to the city. In todays ever growing cities, it is important to use all our resources to the maximum. Open spaces mean very different today.

Poor water retention capacity - The soil has very poor water retention capabilites and hence this helps in the further deepening of the ravines.

CASE STUDY - 2

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Identifying the problems The problems were categorised into three broad categories: - Physical - Socio political - Environmental

Developing varied eco systems - The site has a potential to hold and house different micro habitats with varied flora and fauna.

CASE STUDY - 2

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Promote sustainable farming methods - The underlying goal is to experiment on sustainable and environment friendly farming techniques which enhance the soil quality and eventually turn out to be energy efficient.

CASE STUDY - 2

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SWOT ANALYSIS

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SWOT ANALYSIS

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SWOT ANALYSIS

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PRINCIPLES OF SPATIAL PLANNING - STRATEGIES

SPATIAL PLANNING

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PRINCIPLES OF SPATIAL PLANNING - STRATEGIES

SPATIAL PLANNING

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PRINCIPLES OF SPATIAL PLANNING - STRATEGIES

SPATIAL PLANNING

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PRINCIPLES OF SPATIAL PLANNING - STRATEGIES

SPATIAL PLANNING

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PRINCIPLES OF SPATIAL PLANNING - STRATEGIES

SPATIAL PLANNING

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The compilation of data with reference to the attributes of ecotourism marketing in Gangtok is as follows: •

Being an ecotourism heaven, Gangtok attracts lots of tourists from far and wide and the mode of transport used by the tourists pollutes the serene atmosphere of the place. Improving the transport facilities and regulating the movements in sensitive zones will definitely give a facelift to the overall ambience.

•

The goals of ecotourism marketing should be to promote the activities like soft trekking and adventure tourism.

•

Yet another inference is that Gangtok should subscribe to the principles of ’quality tourism’ and not ’quantity tourism.’Gangtok being a sensitive and rich biodiversity region has to regulate the number of visitors especially during peak season without compromising on the revenue. The best way is to opt for quality tourism. High spending tourists from different countries can be the target audience, wherein the number of visitors will be minimal even when financially the destination is benefited.

•

Emphasis may be laid on organizing FAM tours for travel agents and travel writers to make the marketing activity elective and action oriented.

•

The target groups for marketing in the domestic sector were identified as the upper middleclass, while in the foreign sector; the view was that Asian and European markets should be tapped.

•

Both the guest and host should be instilled with the feeling of respecting the frailty of the cultural and ecological resources of Gangtok.

Active Strategies to be adopted for future tourism planning are :

Certain infrastrucfural deficiencies are also observed while promoting ecotourism. They are: •

The need for more quality rooms and up gradation of hotel facilities in and around Gangtok.

•

The Tourism Corporation and private sector can plan (or supplementary accommodation establishments.

•

The exploratory role of stakeholders in packaging new destinations.

•

Critics argue that visits to environmentally fragile areas, often during sensitive periods, can affect breeding and regeneration very badly. (Areas and sites opened for ecotourism may eventually lead to mass tourism and a range of negative impacts.)

Gangtok is identified as a bottleneck center of accommodation especially during peak season. An alternative may be to develop good camping sites.

ECOTOURISM STRATEGIES

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CONCEPT & VISION VISION, CONCEPT & STRATEGIES

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VISION “To develop Gangtok city as an environmentally sustainable, disaster resilient and economically vibrant city and a major tourist hub while preserving its socio-cultural identity.”

AIM - “To make Gangtok an economically vibrant city with inclusive growth and provision of high end infrastructure”.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY • To conserve the environmentally sensitive areas and double cropping agricultural land, orchards etc.

• To identify potential tourist spots and provide connectivity to develop tourist circuits • To identify means of employment generation and create skilled jobs • To define a flexible urban structure that permits the city to develop in a phased manner and provide access to basic physical and social infrastructure • To create a congestion free transport network • To protect the socio-cultural identity of the people of Gangtok city through the means of promoting Ecotourism/ Urban Ecology while reducing the impact of mass tourism on environment.

Map showing the location of Gangtok city Municipal Corporation and Planning area boundaries

VISION FOR GANGTOK CITY

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CONCEPT/ PROPOSAL FOR TOURISM PLAN “Decentralisation of tourism could offer greater efficiency and effectiveness in a number of different areas.

Territorial decentralization plans can be tailor made for local areas using detailed and up to date information that is only available locally.”

Adventure tourism – it involves exploration or travel with perceived risk. Bunjee jumping, trekking, zip lining, rock climbing, mountaineering Agri tourism – involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch Eco tourism – responsible travel to natural areas that conserve the environment Cultural tourism - to see the location’s culture, including lifestyle of the people, history, art, culture and food Religious tourism – travel for pilgrimage, missionary or leisure purposes

CONCEPT & PROPOSAL

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Gangtok City

The critical areas were identified on the basis of the overlapping layers of dense vegetation, degrading areas, areas prone to soil erosion, spring recharges, existing forest layer, fauna layer and the elevation of the area.

The villages intersecting with the critical areas on the map will need to be conserved and the yellow areas can be further developed.

SWOT ANALYSIS

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EXISTING TOURIST POINTS

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The tourist attractions of East Sikkim are clustered mostly in and around Gangtok; which are directly linked by a network of roads centering Gangtok and are accessible for one-day trips.

Like the state, Gangtok is not only famous for its wonderful natural beauty, but also for various prominent pilgrimage destinations.

The places of tourist interest in and around Gangtok can be based on type of tourism like Religious Tourism; Nature, Eco-tourism and Wildlife; Adventure Tourism

RELIGIOUS

ECOTOURISM, NATURE & WILDLIFE

ADVENTURE

CULTURAL & RELIGIOUS

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MAJOR TOURISM SPOTS

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Heritage and cultural resources of the city are the show cases of the city’s history, people’s identity and culture. It enhances the environment of a place, giving it identity and character. It encompasses culture, lifestyles, design, materials, engineering and architecture. Tourism has emerged as an important instrument for sustainable human development including poverty alleviation, employment generation, conservation of heritage and advancement of women and other disadvantaged groups. Gangtok is strategically located in the world map. It is also sharing international border with China, Nepal & Bhutan.

Fairs, Festivals, Handlooms and Handicrafts The fairs and festivals celebrated year around in Gangtok are also symbolic of the rich Sikkimese cultural heritage and display its homogenous blend of different religions, customs, traditions of different communities. The festivals are a reflection of the rich cultural heritage of the State, which combines the flamboyant aspects of Vajrayana Buddhism and the equally splendid features of Hinduism with the original animist traditions of the Lepchas Carpet weaving, blanket making, handloom, cane and bamboo, Thangka painting, Lepchahats-making and Angora shawl-weaving are the various handlooms and handicraft activities practiced in Sikkim.

Directorate of Handloom & Handicrafts, Sikkim having its main center in Gangtok provides training in art and crafts of Sikkim as well as helps in preserving and keeping alive the marvelous cultural heritage of Sikkim.

Gangtok does not have any ASI or state protected monuments, but the monasteries and other religious buildings around Gangtok can be deemed as built heritage. Not only are these structures a part of life for many, they also have educational, recreational and major tourism potential. The fairs and festivals celebrated year around in Gangtok are also symbolic of the rich Sikkimese cultural heritage and display its homogenous blend of different religions, customs, traditions of different communities.

GANGTOK’S HERITAGE & CULTURE

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Gangtok is a linear city that has developed along National Highway 10.

Gangtok Master Plan area has different hierarchy of roads like- National Highways, State Highways, Bypass, District Roads, Major City Roads, Minor Roads and Village Roads etc. and to improve the connectivity new roads are being constructed from time to time The figure showing the connectivity between the existing city and western part of river Rani Khola, while the construction of new bypass has improved the connectivity, still the travel time is very high.

The white arrows are depicting the connecting points between these two locations and it can be seen that they are connected at four points (Refer figure no 12-5). It can be observed that there is no direct link between the central parts of GMC to the other side; one has to cover a lot of distance to go to the other side of the river.

PROPOSED TRANSPORT LINKS

For the projected population, setting up of new colonies is required along with upgrading the existing ones. For the expansion process to take place properly, a well distributed transport network is required.

To address this issue, missing links are addressed and new roads are proposed along with proposals of widening of few of the existing roads

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Provide substantially large network of public transport system such as local bus / BRT to cover areas beyond ropeway network and over major arterial roads.

• Land use adjustment and densification of corridors along mass transport (proposed ropeway) wherever possible.

• Improvement in Traffic Management over heavy loaded corridors and overall city traffic movement in peak hours.

• Pathway for pedestrian movement along main shopping streets inside core city area.

• Improving Primary, Arterial and other important roads by providing grade separation, junction improvement, adding missing links, road widening wherever necessary.

• Diverting traffic through bypass so as to avoid peak hour congestion on major routes.

• Mass transport system to provide wide coverage and interchange facilities with other modes of transport.

Recently, a very extensive study of Cable car transit system has been carried by UMTC for Gangtok City. As per the study The proposed CCT system route connecting Gangtok from Ranipool Taxi Stand in the south to Upper Burtuk in the North and New Hospital at Sichey in the West and Chandmari in the East, along a 13 km route with 13 sections and 14 stations, 13 of which are open for passenger service. The stations site proposal responds to the main landmarks and points of activity to connect within the city of Gangtok.

The proposed CCT system is made of total 14 stations with 10 stations in North South line, 2 stations in East line and 2 stations in West line.

Neuralgic points like Tourism Office Complex, Sikkim Manipal Hospital, New Hospital at Sichey and the Denzon Cinema/Supermarket Complex are considered as strategic because they are significant trip generators: Serving them has positive impact in the city mass transport system.

The Master Plan of Gangtok Planning Area also suggest to extend the Cable car transit system to the other side of the river Rani Khola.

The cable car network may also connect Tashi view point to proposed golf course area, District Centre at Rumtek and proposed Bus terminal and Integrated Freight Complex with Rani pool area.

Master plan also recommends to prepare a detailed feasibility report for the expansion of the Cable Car Transit system for the newly proposed areas.

TRANSPORT TOURISM CONCEPT

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TYPES OF TOURISM SEEN IN GANGTOK CITY

ADVENTURE & AGRO BASED

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TYPES OF TOURISM SEEN IN GANGTOK CITY

CULTURAL & RELIGIOUS

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TYPES OF TOURISM SEEN IN GANGTOK CITY

CULTURAL & RELIGIOUS

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TYPES OF TOURISM SEEN IN GANGTOK CITY

ECOLOGICAL TOURISM

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TOURISM POTENTIALS ANALYSED WITHIN GANGTOK MUNICIPAL PLANNING AREA (GMPA) AND RECOMMENDATIONS/ STRATEGIES FOR THESE

TOURISM HILL

➢ Viewpoint ➢ Amphitheatre/ OAT ➢ Food Courts/ Lanes with Local Cuisine ➢ Amusement Parks/ Theme Parks ➢ Waterfall ➢ Natural History Museum ➢ Golf Course ➢ Market Place ➢ Night life Complex

ECO

➢ Botanical Garden ➢ Herbal Garden

RURAL

➢ Physical and SocioCultural environment ➢ Gram Haat ➢ Handicraft Training Centre

AGRO

➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Food crops Horticulture Plantation Forestry Fishery Animal husbandry Orchard Tourism and Bee Tourism

TOURISM ANALYSIS

RELIGIOUS

➢ Buddhist Tourism ➢ Sacred sites ➢ Sacred lakes, mountains, island, groves

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Gangtok City

The first step is to identify what the different villages are suitable for what kind of function and to see which all villages can be clubbed and looped into a single route.

TOURISM PLAN FOR THE CITY

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Gangtok City

The second part is to see what all villages can be clubbed together to form loops or "tourist circuits". This helps in streamlining and decentralising the congestion on Gangtok and also helps in creating additional revenue for the near by villages.

TOURISM PLAN FOR THE CITY

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Gangtok Planning area and its surroundings is dotted with several points of tourist interest. Thus, to enhance and further promote tourism in and around Gangtok, tourist circuits have been proposed in the Master Plan.

The destinations covered in the circuits have been mentioned below:

Religious Tourism Circuit The area has several temples and monasteries which form the important destinations under religious tourism circuit. The religious tourism circuit can consist of Temple circuit and Buddhist Circuit.

CONCEPT OF TOURISM CIRCUIT

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Nature/ Leisure Circuit Considering the natural beauty and tranquillity of the region; presence of hills, forests, waterfalls, it is proposed to develop eco-tourism products and leisure tourism products in the region.

The proposed circuits bring together waterfalls, lakes, breath taking views of the Himalayan mountains as well as areas of floral and faunal diversity in the region.

Along this circuit various adventure activities, nature trails, etc can also be developed.

CONCEPT OF TOURISM CIRCUIT

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Gangtok-Silk Route Circuit The ancient silk route which served as a major landroute trade passage between China and India passes nearby the planning area.

Thus, a cultural circuit connecting Gangtok with silk route can be developed integrating various scenic locations, ancient monasteries and other attractions along the route which give a glimpse of the cultural heritage of the region.

CONCEPT OF TOURISM CIRCUIT

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CONCEPTUAL SKETCH OF TOURIST PLAN TO IMPROVE LINKAGES

TYPICAL DETAIL PLAN AND SECTION CONCEPT OF AREA SURROUNDING ECOLOGICAL SITES

CONCEPT PLAN- GANGTOK

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Gangtok has emerged as one of the most preferred destinations in recent times and it has got huge numbers of tourist attractions nearby. From the analysis of existing situation it was found that Gangtok is not utilizing its full potential in terms of tourism. The city has great opportunity to attract more tourists but there are some issues which need to be addressed first. Some of the major issues identified during survey and data analysis are:

➢ Infrastructure facilities for tourists are not distributed properly outside GMC. ➢ During peak season, traffic congestion is found to be very common in Gangtok. ➢ The analysis shows that there are huge numbers of tourist attraction within 45 km of Gangtok, but there is no planned tourist circuit in place and professional management of tourist places is also lacking. ➢ There is lack of infrastructure to accommodate the increasing tourist inflow. The facilities like eating joints and organized retail spaces near to the monuments are also lacking. ➢ Unplanned and un-organized development activities can be seen around various tourist places and at some of the places, the slum development can be seen. ➢ There is lack of indoor activity-oriented facilities. ➢ In the absence of public transportation systems, travel costs are expensive. ➢ There is lack of promotional activities in Gangtok to conserve and protect the heritage structure and values. ➢ The peoples visiting the monument or staying in the surrounding area are not concerned to save the heritage of the city.

AREAS TO BE LOOKED UPON !!

RECOMMENDATIONS

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VISUAL ASSESSMENT THROUGH SKETCHES

IMAGE OF THE CITY - GANGTOK

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VISUAL ASSESSMENT THROUGH SKETCHES

IMAGE OF THE CITY - GANGTOK

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VISUAL ASSESSMENT THROUGH SKETCHES

IMAGE OF THE CITY - GANGTOK

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https://www.yesbank.in/pdf/sustainable_tourism_in_india_initiatives_and_opportunities.pdf https://tourism.gov.in/about-us/india-tourism-development-corporation-itdc https://www.scitcentral.com/article/46/1560/STATUS-OF-SUSTAINABLE-TOURISM-PRACTICESIN-SIKKIM,-INDIA:-USE-OF-SELECT-RELEVANT-PARAMETERS-TO-ASSESS-ISSUES-ANDCHALLENGES-#tabs6 https://www.scitcentral.com/documents/54e96ffb539127f9f7c641e4d6000cab.pdf http://scstsenvis.nic.in/index2.aspx?slid=602&sublinkid=969&langid=1&mid=1 http://scstsenvis.nic.in/WriteReadData/links/sikkim%20tourism%20policy%20-95955307.pdf http://scstsenvis.nic.in/WriteReadData/links/towards%20the%20development%20of%20sustain able%20tourism%20in%20sikkim,%20india-588825010.pdf http://scstsenvis.nic.in/WriteReadData/links/Ecotourism_Policy_in_India_Rhetoric_and_Reality -80260945.pdf

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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