The Tourism and Economic Status:



The Tourism and Economic Status: A Case Study of Gurung CommunityGhandruk, Kaski, NepalThe mini research report submitted to the faculty of Sociology as partial fulfillment of the requirements for BBA 5th Semester course.Submitted byMamata K.C.Rabina MaharjanRoshna SinghShristi PradhanSophia PandeyThealey Tsetan GurungKathmadu, NepalFebruary 11, 2016ACKNOWLEDGEMENTWe, the student of BBA 5th Sem. (Sec-A) would like to acknowledge enlightening experience of Mr.Anup Rai, Teacher of Sociology for providing such an opportunities to know about the tourism and economic status of Ghandruk in Nepal.This report has been prepared under the subject Sociology regarding the information collected from the “Ghandruk Village” that is and has been famous as tourism area. This report is based on the data collected and from the field visit and the websites. This report is the combined effort of all group members.We also want to thank respected principal of the college, Mr. Naresh Prasad Shrestha for allowing visiting the village. Also, we want to thank respected Program Director, Mr. Satya Bahadur Shrestha for supporting us. Not only that we would like to thank the management team of Prime College specially Program Coordinator,Mr. Niyam Raj Shrestha for their contribution to carry out the practical visit in the market to know about the economic and social status of Ghandruk Village. We want to thank Lecturer, Tara Sir for his contribution to carry out the practical visit in the village to know about the tourism and economic status of Ghandruk. Not only that, we would also like to thank our guide for the tour Mr. Dil Gurung for guiding us throughout the journey. We would also like to thank all other members for their contribution while preparing this report.Finally we ourselves greatly obliged to bring the project to its final destination and bring the best fact to the readers. So we hope this project will get the due valuation and will be able to satisfy the queries of the readers.Prime College Khusibu, Nayabazar, KathmanduDate: 2/11/2016LETTER OF RECOMMENDATIONThe research entitled “Tourism and Economic Status: A Case Study of Gurung Community, Ghandruk, Kaski, Nepal” has been conducted under my guidance and supervision. The research team has successfully completed this work as per the standard provided. Therefore, I recommend this report for acceptance and final approval.Mr. Anup RaiFaculty MemberPrime CollegeKhusibu, KathmanduPrime College Khusibu, Nayabazar, KathmanduDate: 11th February, 2016 APPROVAL SHEETThis report entitled “Tourism and Economic Status: A Case Study of Gurung Community, Ghandruk, Kaski, Nepal” has been prepared and presented to the department of the Prime College.It has been approved and accepted for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the course Sociology, 5th Semester.Approved on: 2/11/2016Mr. Satya Bahadur ShresthaProgram DirectorMr. Niyam Raj ShresthaProgram CoordinatorMr. Anup RaiFaculty MemberTable of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION1-41.1.INTRODUCTION11.2.RESEARCH PROBLEM21.3.OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH21.4.METHODS2-31.5.RATIONAL JUSTIFICATION41.ANIZATION OF REPORT4CHAPTER II: DATA INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS5-82.1. FINDINGS ABOUT GHANDRUK52.2. TOURISM IMPACTS6-72.2.1. Impact on Economy62.2.1. Impact on Society7-82.3. ECONOMIC IMPACTS9-13CHAPTER III: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION14-163.1. SUMMARY143.2. CONCLUSION153.3. RECOMMENDATION16BIBLOGRAPHY17APPENDICES18-20LIST OF TABLES TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u HYPERLINK \l "_Toc442892067"Table 1: Information about Ghandruk5HYPERLINK \l "_Toc442892067"Table 2: Ethnic Group of Ghandruk, VCD6HYPERLINK \l "_Toc442892067"Table 3: Occupation of People in Ghandruk Village PAGEREF _Toc442892067 \h 10HYPERLINK \l "_Toc442892067"Table 4: Caste/Ethnicity and Occupation of the Respondents PAGEREF _Toc442892067 \h 10HYPERLINK \l "_Toc442892067"Table 5: Education Level of Ghandruk People PAGEREF _Toc442892067 \h 11LIST OF FIGURES HYPERLINK \l "_Toc442892067"Figure 1: Map of Ghandruk5HYPERLINK \l "_Toc442892067"Figure 2: Distribution of Respondents by Caste/Ethnicity9CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONGhandruk is a small and well-established village in central Nepal. It is located in the Annapurna region and is the major village in the Kaski district. It is 45km northwest of the major town of Pokhara. It is situated at 2,012 meters above sea level. Ghandruk village has 1142+ households with a population of 5800+ individuals. Electricity in Ghandruk is supplied by an off-grid micro hydropower plant. This allows the health centre to sterilize its clinical equipment and the laboratory to handle blood testing and pathology services.Ghandruk is a popular tourist destination attracting both local and foreign tourists. In additional to tourism, the main sources of income are in agriculture and the military. Ghandruk is located in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) and was the pioneering village where the concept of promoting the concept of a conservation area managed through an integrated conservation and development program was trialed by National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). The concept was a success and the community of Ghandruk was and continues to be, involved in decision-making in the ACA. Launched in 1986, Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) is the largest undertaking of NTNC and also the first conservation area and largest protected area in Nepal. It covers an area of 7,629 sq km and is home to over 100,000 residents. ACAP practices a multiple land use method of resource management, combining environmental protection with sustainable community development and tourism management. ACAP was developed to manage the pressure being placed on ACA to maintain a balance between economic development and environmental conservation.RESEARCH PROBLEMGhandruk is one of the most favored touristic spots in Nepal. And the impacts of tourism industry will definitely be huge. Tourism is one of the major sources of income in the area generating large number of employment opportunities and bringing change in the living standard of the people. Thus, this research intends to study the very impacts of tourism in the area and on the lives of local residents of Ghandruk specifically the social and economic impacts.The questions this research intends to find out are:What is economic status of Ghandruk?What are the impacts of tourism in Ghandruk?What are major sources of income of people?What are the economic challenges after earthquake and embargo?What is the role of women towards contribution in economic activities and tourism?OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCHTo study socio-economic impacts of tourism in GhandrukTo know about economic challenges of GhandrukDATA COLLECTION METHODSSamplingTotal Population: Above 5800Total Villages: 13Total No. of Hotels: 33Sample Size: 2 Hotels, 2 Villages and 7 FamiliesInterviewAn?interview?is a conversation between two or more people where?questions?are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements from the interviewee. Interview with villagers and hotel owners provided us opportunity to get the first hand data and qualitative information.ObservationWe conducted Naturalistic (or nonparticipant) observation which is simply studying behaviors that occur naturally in natural contexts, unlike the artificial environment of a controlled laboratory setting. InternetWe browsed various relevant sites and collected all required information. The links of various sites are provided in References, last page.RATIONAL JUSTIFICATIONDoing anything their might arise different problem so as in this research we have got different problems. Likewise we cannot cover all the fields and get all the information regarding tourism and economy in Ghandruk. Some of the problem that was been faced are:They weren't so openly to share the information about the economy of their family We couldn't collect more information on tourism due to time constraints people were busy in their daily routineDue to the limited time been spend in Ghandruk we weren't able to retrieve and know more about their economic conditionsORGANIZATION OF REPORTCHAPTER II: DATA INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS2.1. FINDINGS ABOUT GHANDRUKGhandruk is a town and Village Development Committee in Kaski District in the Gandaki Zone of northern-central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 4,748 persons living in 1,013 individual households.Some information about GHANDRUK:Table 1: Information about Ghandruk ,VCDMix. altitude1,940m.Weather11°C, Wind N at 2 km/h, 61% Humidity Latitude28.377Longitude83.807Source: WikipediaMap of GhandrukFigure 1: Map of Ghandruk Source: Google MapEthnic GroupPercentageGURUNG61.95%KAMI12.80%MAGAR5.71%SARKI5.70%DAMAI4.71%BHRAMAN4.68%CHHETRI4.99%OTHER0.36%Table 2: Ethnic Group of Ghandruk ,VCDSource: Hotel Peaceful, Ghandruk2.2. TOURISM IMPACTSBecause of diverse natural scenery, spectacular snow caped mountains, beautiful forest, hills and wildlife, Ghandruk has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. The village of Ghandruk is also famous for its interesting culture and tradition that has also helped Ghandruk to draw a large number of tourists. About 40,000 thousand tourists visit Ghandruk annually boosting its local economy.As the number of tourists increased every year, large number of lodges, hotels, campsites and teashops were built in and around the Ghandruk in order to meet the growing needs of tourists for fooding and accommodation. There are now fifteen well equipped hotels including several tea houses and campsites in Ghandruk. However, there are both positive and negative socio-economic impacts of tourism in Ghandruk.First, let’s analyze positive impacts which are:2.2.1. Impact on EconomyThe emergence of tourism industry has played a huge role in the upliftment of economy in Ghandruk.There are employment opportunities in hotels, as tourist guides, porters, bringing in foreign remittances, growth in investments in various tourism activities, etc.There has been swift change in the occupation of many people from simply engaging in farming and animal husbandry to running lodge, restaurants, hotels, working as tourist guides, porters, etc.Tourism activities are usually limited only during the peak season of the year in the months of September, October and November which creates economic problems for destinations that are heavily dependent on itTourism has not been a boon for everybody in that village, especially for the local residents who are not engaged in any tourism activities.There is economic inequality in the area where rich hoteliers are becoming richer and poor locals poorer which is clearly visible and evidential when one visits the area.2.2.2. Impact on SocietyWith the tourism, although not majorly, but people’s occupation has shifted to tourism activities from traditional farming, animal husbandry, poultry farming, etc. The globalization facilitated by tourism has brought in the facilities of Wi-Fi internet although only in the hotels and lodges Tourists have brought hygienic and sanitation improvement among the locals. There are museums for tourists where the local people have been able to preserve their traditional dresses, ornaments, household items and pictures of their ancestors.However, other than most of positive impacts, there are some negative impacts too. Due to economic disparity among the rich and poor in the area caused significantly due to tourism, it has as a direct result, caused social partition between these two groups too. Although still unaltered, there is a threat on local culture with the flow of tourists from all over the world, bringing their own culture and life style into the area.The flow of tourists in village caused problem of rubbish like toilet paper, tin, bottles and plastic were commonly found along the trekking trails and campsites that made environment of Ghandruk more polluted.Because of worsening situation of Ghandruk, an ecologically sustainable tourism was introduced in Ghandruk in 1986 with joint effort of Annapurna Conservation Area Project and people of Ghandruk with an aim to protect nature and improve the local standards of living through the well managed tourism development.Today tourism has been second major source?of income that supports the half economy of Ghandruk, with the assistance from ACAP and Ghandruk conservation and lodge committee a community health center has been established in Ghandruk that provide medical service to both tourists and Ghandruk people. Except hotel business, the lodge management committee of Ghandruk in an income generating?activities like production of local crafts which is made from wood and bamboo carpet and woolen blanket poultry farming and vegetable production to get more and more benefits from tourists.2.3. ECONOMIC IMPACTS2.3.1. The Economy of GhandrukEconomic characteristics includes main source of income, property and occupation.Caste/Ethnicity of the Study Population The study area is one of the famous Gurung community and Gurung culture and tradition in Nepal. It has been one of the attractions for tourists as well. So, one can easily say that the dominant population of Ghandruk is Gurung.Figure 2: Distribution of Respondents by Caste/Ethnicity Source: Fig. showed that the highest percent of respondents were Gurung i.e. 75 percent and the least were others which includes Rai, Magar, and Tamang.Occupation The occupational status of the people determines their living standard because it is integral part of economic structure. Tourism causes to make various occupations and economic resources. More specially it leads to job opportunities for those who are not skilled for better occupations and reduces the village's dependence to agriculture by enhancing village economic in different aspects.Table 3: Occupation of People in Ghandruk VillageOccupationPercentAgriculture48Business15Government service5Hotel service21Pension2Provision shop3Tea shop6Total100Source:The above table showed that most of the respondents' occupation was agriculture i.e. 48 percent and hotel service was 21 percent, business was 15 percent. It was also found that 2 percent of respondents were found that they are retired army and do not do any occupation. They are only depending on their pension for their livelihood.Caste/Ethnicity and Occupation of the Respondents Nowadays, the recruitment of young Gurung boys from Ghandruk in the British and the Indian army declines, the growing tourism activities in Ghandruk have help boost the village economy and changed the profession. With the increase in the number of trekkers to the Annapurna Base Camp, the number of lodges/resorts in Ghandruk VDC has gone up. More Gurung boys are finding employment as hotel owners. Jobs like pottering and guides are mainly performed by low caste people who live in the village.Table 4: Caste/Ethnicity and Occupation of the RespondentsCaste of the RespondentsProfession of the Respondents (%)Agriculture BusinessGovernment ServiceGurung31386Bhrahmin/ Chhetri18-Dalit1021Others2--Table presented that the highest number of caste were Gurung, among them 31 percent respondents occupation was agriculture, 38 percent engaged in business. Similarly, Dalits were following caste after Gurung. In the research, 13 percent respondents' occupation was agriculture, government service, hotel service, provision shop, tea shop occupation were only 1 percent eachEducation Level The development of nation depends on the development of education because it can help attain high social and economic status. The qualified manpower can be enhanced owing to educational development. The educational status of the study area is presented in the following table.Table 5: Education Level of Ghandruk People Education Level PercentIlliterate 7Primary Level 39 Lower Secondary Level 12Secondary Level 32Higher Secondary Level 7Bachelor Level 3Total 100Source: Table showed that the highest percent of respondents were secondary level i.e. 32 percent and the least is Bachelor level which is only 3 percent and illiterate percent were 7. During the field it is found that the elderly people household heads were illiterateMain Source of Livelihood Tourism diversifies the sources of livelihood in host community. As there are many sources of livelihood in community this study tried to find out the sources of livelihood in the respondents family. The following sources of livelihood has been listed in questionnaire and ranked them according to their level of income from the given sources which is presented below:AgricultureLivestock farming is one of the traditional occupations in Ghandruk. Most of the households have a buffalo, cow, chicken, for the family purpose. Very few of them sell them to hotels to get economic benefit from it. Mules are mostly used to carry loads up and down the village. We have also found varieties of vegetables are grown there. However, they are not sufficient to feed them and very few of them sell and get economic benefit. Some crops grown there are maize, millet, paddy, wheat, potato, cabbage, tomato, cauliflower, rai sag, milk and milk products, local alcohol, etc. Aside from vegetables, other food items, including eggs, biscuits, cold drinks and beer are obtained from Pokhara. These food items are used in the lodges/restaurants for tourists in addition to cereals procured from local sources. Hotel/ retail shop/petty business/home stayThere are 33 hotels in Ghandruk. Most of the tourists are from Norway, USA, China, Japan and India. Local tourists are also increasing every year. Along with development of tourism in Ghandruk both positive and negative outcomes of tourism were viewed in the society. As a positive impact, it brought significant change in the living standard of Ghandrukes by offering them an income generating opportunities through tourism business. Such as running guest houses, lodges, and tea houses etc. that helped them to raise their standard of living. On the other hand, occurrences of people meeting with tourists led to transformation of Ghandruk culture in to visitor’s culture to some extent.Abroad employedGhandruk is home to thousands of British and Indian Gurkhas either serving or retired as well as war veterans who fought valiantly on numerous wars abroad. Although there are good economic opportunities in the village, the younger peoples prefer to go outside the village or abroad in search of employment for easy and better life.Service (government/private) Some of them are involved in teaching in the schools of Ghandruk. Agro/forest/local product selling There is a traditional costumes and jewelry center where visitors can dress up in a traditional Gurung style and take photographs with a hiring cost. They have also established a small scale cottage industry. This cottage industry is gradually picking-up and growing up in Ghandruk. They weave carpet, blanket etc. and sell to the visitorsWage laborMore Gurung boys are finding employment as guide whereas the low caste people living in the village are porters. Some women also work at the canteen of the school. The lodges are run by family members from the village. Low employment in the lodges is mainly due to the shortage of labour in Ghandruk. In conclusion most of the people in this area are involved in agriculture however it is not only the main source livelihood in the household. Thus abroad employment and hotel service is the main source of livelihood in the study area. CHAPTER III: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION3.1 SUMMARYGhandruk is a beautiful place with magnificent natural scenic beauty and a distinctive Gurung culture that thrives in this small village still in its typical unaltered form. It is considered among one of the most preferred touristic areas in Nepal.A study on 'tourism and economy of local people of Ghandruk had been caused out in Ghandruk VDC of Kaski district. The objectives of the study were to examine socio-economic impact of tourism on local livelihood, assess tourism related activities and natural resource and environmental management and to assess the role of stake holder institutions in the study area. The study was conducted both tourism entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs to find the actual impact of tourism. Primary data collection tool was emphasized through the verbal questionnaire schedule. For the study purpose simple random sampling and purposive sampling has been used. The nature of research was descriptive and both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. This study analyzed the three major component of tourism. They are social, economic and environmental. CONCLUSION There have been several positive impacts brought by tourism in terms of growth in employment opportunities, increase in foreign remittances, self-sustainable investments, etc. in village of Ghandruk. The forces of change are many and varied; tourism is just one of them. Due to the keen interest of the visiting tourists in the local Gurung culture in the village, people have been more than delightful to preserve their culture and tradition and language not only to thrive their distinctiveness but also as a major attraction to the tourists and source of income. Besides, people have been more connected to the outer world, through the exchange of their culture, the lifestyles, with the tourist flowing in from different parts of the world. The living standard has been enhanced to some extent. The co-operation between stakeholder institutions and local people has been able to manage the wastes and reduce the excessive use of forest products by promoting alternative source of energy. On the other hand, in socio-economic perspective tourism has generated various sources of livelihood however the main source of livelihood among the respondents were abroad employment and agriculture was subsistence. Tourism has brought changes in the facilities like health post, trekking route and provided opportunities to learn second language, change in profession and in education level. The negative impact due to tourism is hike in price it is because tourist can pay more which has made excessive expensive to local people. In case of Ghandruk, tourism has been majorly benefitting only one group of people that is the hotel owners. The economic benefit from tourism was only to the tourism entrepreneurs where non-local were employed rather than local ones.RECOMMENDATION Ghandruk is one of the attractive tourist's destinations in Nepal which lies on the famous ABC trekking route (sanctuary trek). This study tried to analyze the tourism on socio-economic condition. It has been found that agriculture was mostly subsistence. The economic linkage between tourism and agriculture sector was poor. And one can easily say the area of socio-economic and environment is very large. Therefore, the study has limitations of not covering the overall area of socio-economic and environment. It would be better to encourage and train the farmer to grow the vegetables and other crops which has more demand in tourism sector. The local poor and disadvantaged groups have less economic benefit from tourism so it would be better to make equal sharing of economic benefit plans and programs.Recommendation for the village of Ghandruk:Creation of two markets:One for the tourists and another for the local villagersIn order to eliminate the economic inequality brought in by tourism and for equal utilization of resourcesUtilization and best mobilization of culture for both cultural thriving and source of income. Making equal share of economic benefit plans and programs even to disadvantaged groupRecommendation for the college:College could conduct meeting with the leaders of the groups prior to the tour to discuss on the interests and expectations of the studentsBIBLOGRAPHYThe Editor. (2010, October 19). Bistream. Retrieved fromhttp:/182.93.84.134:9991/Pucl/Bistream/123456789/27/1Gurung_Dashmi.pdfWikipediaGoogle Map 400050447675APPENDICESEthnicity: DalitOccupation: Animal HusbandryEthnicity: GurungOccupation: Agriculture, Animal HusbandryEthnicity: GurungOccupation: Canteen Helper, TeacherEthnicity: GurungOccupation: AgricultureEthnicity: GurungOccupation: Owner of Peaceful Hotel ................
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