Managing coastal tourism: Perspectives from India and the European union

Abstract

Tourism can, and does, impact local development and the environment, as seen in this multi-authored volume, and attention is needed to avoid what has been termed as the 'golden goose' problem. The beauty and environmental quality of tourist destinations are what attract tourists, and local people are increasingly anxious to participate in and draw the benefits of tourism while preserving their own identities, the natural environment, and the historic and cultural heritage from the impact of uncontrolled tourism. The question then becomes one of developing and managing coastal tourism as an activity that generates profits to the industry and, the same time, contributes proactively to the sustainability of local communities, without stressing the environment. In this chapter, the major findings of our study; assess policy as it exists in India; and examine innovations in the EU (European Union) policy has been brought together. European policies do hold lessons for countries such as India, as the European political system holds together many nations under a common umbrella, with innovative principles such as subsidiarity and integration, which underlie environment and regional planning activities. India's federating states can gain an insight into the concept of common but differentiated responses from the EU's experience in coastal management. The chapter ends with suggestions on what needs to be done to move towards more sustainable coastal tourism