Abstract
Stakeholder involvement is often cited as critical to sustainable tourism development, but there is limited documentation for niche areas, such as adventure tourism. The main purpose of our research was to understand stakeholder roles in adventure tourism in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR), Uttarakhand, India, to identify opportunities for achieving sustainable adventure tourism. Our interviews, treks and other activities revealed that organised adventure activities were still in the early development phase, with trekking being the most popular activity. The roles of various stakeholders are yet to be clearly defined, but the State Forest Department is playing a lead in the rapidly evolving network of relationships among adventure tourism stakeholders. Significant opportunity exists for a more systematic approach to adventure tourism planning that builds on the existing strengths of the various players.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Special thanks go to project team members Mehru Chand Thakur, Dr R.B. Singh of the University of Delhi and Dr Mohan Panwar of HNB Garhwal University. We also thank the research participants from the Joshimath study area, including Yashuan Singh Pal, Santosh Kumar, Sunil Kainthola and the many other contributors.