God’s own tourism: creating socio-economic, cultural, and environmental sustainability in tourism industries in Kerala

Abstract

Worldwide governments have recognized tourism as a sector with immense potential for economic development and employment generation. Various international agencies like World Tourism Organization (WTO) have pointed out the vast developmental potential of tourism, particularly regarding the developing nations like India. Despite the wide recognition of the vast developmental potential of tourism, there are growing apprehensions regarding the sustainability of tourism as a development paradigm. The development of tourism induces changes in the social character of a destination. These transformations include the impact of tourism development and its economic efficiency on inhabitants’ traditional values, lifestyles, and interpersonal relationships.