Page 33 - IJES Special Issues for AIEC2016

International Journal of Environment and Sustainability, 2016, 5(1): 18-34 23

hotel association, gift shop association, and Table 2
travel agents association were quizzed on their
perceptions about problems facing the tourism Inventory of Enterprises in Manali
industry, budding entrepreneurs, their mutual
coordination mechanisms, the extent of their Enterprises Number
participation in the tourism planning and Hotels 506
development, their willingness to pay for Travel Agencies 37
environmental conservation, and their sugges- Tour operators 19
tions on future development strategies and Adventure Travel Operators 11
willingness to contribute to environmental Souvenir Shops 108
management at the destination. The local Taxi/ Auto Operators 3176
development officers were also questioned on
the participation of the stakeholders in the Table 3
tourism development and the current mecha- Growth of Hotels in Manali
nism of soliciting their suggestions.

Years Number % Growth
1985 165
1990 187 13
1995 240 28
2000 296 23
2005 343 16
2007 359 0.4
2010 431 20
2014 506 18

Figure 1: Indicator Framework In terms of demand for tourism in Manali, the
leisure segment dominates with 96 percent of
4. Findings tourists visiting the destination for leisure. Over
80 percent of the tourists are budget tourists
4.1 Economic with an average stay of three nights. The
conference market in Manali is still at its
There is a large number of SMEs operating in infancy. It is comprised primarily of conferences
the area catering to the tourists in various ways. and dealer meets catering to the domestic
A large majority is small transport operators markets, mostly from north India. Although
supplying taxis and auto rikshaws. room rates are usually discounted, hotels
benefit from catering and other services. Peak
There has been a sharp rise in hotels in the area conference demand occurs in the months of
after 1990, mainly due to the rise in tourist August through November, which is the off-
traffic as a result of law and order problems in season. The average length of stay during
Jammu and Kashmir, the nearest competitor of conferences is three days with an average room
Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayas. However, requirement of 25-30 rooms. The average
after 2000 the growth trend slowed down due annual occupancy among hotels in Manali is the
to the scarcity of land and the sharp rise in land highest among medium hotels and the lowest
prices at Manali. among the budget hotels (Figure 2). This is
because the majority of budget and small hotels
depend upon drops in tourists and are not able
to market their rooms and get direct bookings
from various supply regions (Figure 3).

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